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 THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES
 
 
 -v«--«-^ 
 
 47 
 
 y 
 
 ^1
 
 RAMBLES ROUND HORTON.
 
 List of Illustrations. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Horton Olcl Hall 
 
 Old Gateway, Chapel Lane 
 
 Octagon Chapel, Horton Road 
 
 The Old Skinhouse 
 
 Horton House 
 
 Horton Hall 
 
 "Old House at Home" 
 
 Old Corn Mill, Beckside i75 
 
 Brooksbank House ... ... ... ... ■■■ •• '79 
 
 
 J 
 
 Frontispiece 
 
 
 ... 
 
 ... 
 
 54 
 
 
 ... 
 
 ... 
 
 63 
 
 
 ... 
 
 
 11 
 
 to 
 
 face 
 
 page 
 
 88 
 
 to 
 
 face 
 
 page 
 
 TOO 
 
 '45
 
 %\oii. 
 
 Rambles Round Horton: 
 
 Historical, Topographical, and 
 Descriptive. 
 
 By WM. CUDWORTH, 
 
 Author of " Round About Bradford:;'' " Historical Xotcs on the 
 Bradford Corporation^' S^c. 
 
 Published ijv Subscription. 
 
 1 886. 
 liRAUFORD : THUS. BREAK & CO., Ll.MITEU. 
 
 \l'.iilered at StatiutuTs Hall. — ./// Kights Reserved^
 
 H6C9 
 
 THIS VOLUME IS 
 
 DEDICATKD BV THE AUTHOR 
 
 TO 
 
 FRANCIS SHARP POWELL, Esq., M.P., 
 
 OF HORTON^OLD HALL, 
 
 IN REMEMBRANCE OF HIS KINDNESS 
 
 ON MANY OCCASIONS DURING 
 
 ITS PREPARATION. 
 
 borCcSo*^
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 The Author would fain liopc that no apology is needed for the 
 publication of " Rambles Round Horton," albeit the interest of the 
 volume is of a comparatively limited character. Works of this nature 
 form the basis of local history, treating; as they do of " things great 
 and small.'' It may be that many of the items included appear 
 insignificant, but from the historian's standpoint they add completeness 
 to the whole, and are therefore deserving of notice. 
 
 Under any circumstances the Author had no alternative but to 
 issue the present work, such was the amount of interest evoked by 
 the publication of the " Rambles '" in the columns of the Bradford 
 Obscri'cr. In bringing them before the public in the present form, he 
 trusts that his patrons will not be dissatisfied with the result. No 
 effort has been spared to secure accuracy, although it is obvious that 
 accuracy cannot always be obtained even with the best intentions. 
 
 The Author has to acknowledge his indebtedness to many friends 
 for the facilities they have afforded him for obtaining information ; 
 to his former coadjutor, Mr. W. G. Hird, for his kind assistance 
 in the tedious task of indicing ; and to his numerous subscribers, 
 without whose support the work could not liave been undertaken. 
 
 The .\uthor purposes to continue his rambles round the town- 
 ships forming the Borough of 15radford, and to publish the account 
 thereof uniform with the present volume, should this literary venture 
 meet with favour. 
 
 January, 1886.
 
 RAMBLES ROUND MORTON. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Introductory — Boundaries — Streams — Roads — Conformation — Strata — Acreage — 
 Origin of Names — Lords of tlie Manor — Manorial Customs— Ancient Tenants 
 — Ancient Freeholders. 
 
 In olden times, when lords of manors enjoyed some 
 degree of feudal importance, the ceremony of perambulating 
 the boundaries of townships excited no small amount of 
 interest in local circles. The ceremony would appear to have 
 been of value, in so far as the feudal lord and his retainers took 
 note of whatever changes might have taken place within the 
 charmed circle they patrolled. In pursuing these " rambles," 
 therefore, our immediate purpose will be to take note of the 
 old landmarks still remaining, and refer as far as possible to 
 some of their former inhabitants. In this wav a foundation 
 may be laid upon which a superstructure of township history 
 may be raised, of which, so far as the townships of the borough 
 of Bradford are concerned, no record exists. It will be 
 acknowledged that ample material exists for such a record. 
 Notwithstanding the common interest shared by all the 
 townships of Bradford, an individuality pervades each locality 
 which is sufficiently marked to justify individual reference 
 without attempting the larger task of collating the whole into 
 a history of the borough. Relieved from the necessity of 
 recording the more important events which would be necessary 
 in such a compilation, we can do greater justice to matters 
 often only slightly touched upon or altogether left unnoticed. 
 
 Following in the track of ancient custom, therefore, 
 we proceed to describe the boundaries of the township of 
 the Hortons, Great and Little, as they are defined by natural 
 lines of demarcation. The township is bounded on the west 
 by the stream that divides it from Clayton, called Tanner 
 Beck, which flows to Lower Lidget, and then through
 
 2 Rambles Roimd H or ton. 
 
 Bulgrcavc Wood, when it becomes known as Bulgreavc Beck. 
 Flowing past Scholemoor Cemetery this beck joins the stream 
 called Middle-broke, upon which Sams Mill is situate. From 
 thence to the town of Bradford it is called the Bradford 
 Beck, and forms the northern boundary of the township of 
 Horton. On the cast the township is bounded by Bowling 
 Beck, and on the south by a portion of the township of North 
 Bierley. Another portion of North Bierley obtrudes upon 
 the south-east corner of Horton township, but if any modern 
 lord of the manor essayed a perambulation of the boundaries 
 he must needs wade through two Corporation reservoirs at 
 Horton Bank-top. In addition to the above there are 
 tributary streams rising in the township, although they are 
 none of them of great volume. A stream, having several 
 sources of supply near Cliffe Mill once fed the old corn mill 
 at Beckside, and meandering down to Shearbridge was called 
 Horton Beck. At Shearbridge the beck is joined by another, 
 formerly called Broad Beck, having its rise in fields adjoining 
 Horton Park. 
 
 The township boundaries formerly extended into Tyrrel 
 Street by a triangular piece of ground called Broadcroft, which 
 was appropriated by Henry de Lacy, Earl of Lincoln, and his 
 mother of unsavoury memory. Horton being a mesne manor 
 the lord thereof was not able to resist the encroachment, 
 although he succeeded in establishing his claim to a rent of 
 3s. per annum. The triangular plot was described by a 
 commission which sat in 1420 to determine as to the 
 continuance of the rental, as " a plot of land in the township 
 of Little Horton, lying within Bradford Brook, BolHng 
 Brook, Horton Kyrkgate {qy. Chapel Lane), and the Field of 
 Horton." 
 
 The principal roads in Horton township branch from 
 what was formerly called the town-end of ]3radford, and are 
 now known as Horton Lane, Horton Road, Manchester Road 
 (anciently Bowling Lane), and Legrams Lane. Manchester 
 Road only passes through a portion of the easterly side of 
 the township, and debouches into Bowling, whereas Horton 
 Lane and Horton Road thread the township until they leave 
 it, the former at Brownroyd Hill, Wibsey, and the latter
 
 Rambles Round Horton. 3 
 
 at Clayton Heights on the old road to Halifax. Legrams 
 is an old packhorse road, having been an outlet from 
 Silsbridge Lane, joining the old road to Halifax by way of 
 Green Lane, Toby Lane, Scarr Lane, Upper Green, Dog 
 Lane, and what is still called the " old road " at Bank Top. 
 
 The hamlet of Lidget is also approached by Cemetery 
 Road (formerly Thiefscore Lane). The oldest highway 
 between Great and Little Horton is Southfield Lane, or 
 SoLithgate. There are also other connecting links, such as 
 Park Lane, Park Avenue, Laistridge Lane, Clayton Lane, 
 Holme Lane, Thornton Lane, Aycliffe Lane, Jer Lane, 
 Pickles Hill, Old Road, Hollingwood Lane, Cliffe Lane, and 
 "bridle-stiles," too numerous for mention. Examples of the 
 general character of these thoroughfares, useful during the 
 period when the principal means of transit was by packhorses, 
 existed in the road leading from Upper Green down Green- 
 field to Bracken Hill ; in the one from Leventhorpe through 
 Scholemoor by way of Foggs Lane to Horton ; and in that 
 leading from Thiefscore Bridge to Birks. The old road at 
 Horton Bank, formerly the main coach road between Bradford 
 and Halifax, is worth a visit if only to realise the contrast 
 between the description of highway which served our fore- 
 fathers and such thoroughfares as Park Avenue, for instance, 
 a specimen of modern construction. 
 
 The conformation of the Horton township is agreeably 
 diversified, the upper portion containing numerous eminences, 
 from which extensive views are obtainable. The highest 
 elevation is attained on the eminence known as Beacon Hill, 
 975 feet above the mean sea level. From this spot a 
 commanding prospect may be had, embracing the companion 
 beacons at Beamsley, Rawdon Billing, and Halifax, besides a 
 fine sweep of country south and cast. From Beldon Hill, 
 Haycliffe Hill, Crag Hill, Pickles Hill, and Brow Hill good 
 and varied views may also be obtained. 
 
 There is no moorland in Horton township, the only place 
 bearing even the name being Scholemoor. From ancient 
 documents, to which reference will subsequently be made, we 
 learn that this hamlet was formerly waste land. Within a 
 recent period, however, the only waste land was situate at
 
 4 Rambles Round Horton. 
 
 Horton Green and in Southfield Lane — the site of the Old 
 Bell Chapel, for instance, and what are now called Upper and 
 Lower Green, These " greens " are numerous, including 
 Horton Green, Chapel Green, Low Green, Upper Green, 
 Lidget Green, and Paradise Green. They, however, furnish 
 no open spaces. Upon old maps what is called New England 
 land is marked, being chiefly in the vicinity of Southfield Lane. 
 
 Although the surface land of the township is pleasantly 
 undulated, it owes very little to the embellishment which a 
 well-wooded locality receives from nature. In the sheltered 
 valleys there are numerous trees, but not many of large growth, 
 the most thriving plantations being those around Horton 
 Grange, Bracken Hall, Springfield, and other residences, all of 
 which have been planted within a comparatively recent period. 
 As early as the year 1350 evidence exists that coal was found 
 and used in the township. This fact we learn from an extract 
 from the court rolls of the manor of Bradford, transcribed by 
 Mr. T. T. Empsall and contributed to the journal of the 
 Bradford Historical Society. In these rolls "Thomas del 
 Halghes complains that one John the Milner,of Mickle Horton, 
 had made divers wells in his land is search of carbones viarinos, 
 and that after taking away the coal he had left open the wells, 
 whereby the cattle of Thomas del Halghes had fallen in and 
 were drowned." Coal has also been extensively got on Beldon 
 Hill and upon the slopes of Haycliffe and Crag Hills. 
 Practically, however, the coal measures of Horton have now 
 become exhausted ; neither is stone obtained in large quantity. 
 
 The four principal landowners are Mr. J. A. Jowett, 
 of Bolton ; Mr. I^ S. Powell, of Horton Old Hall ; Mr. 
 Wm. Ramsden, of Bracken Hall; and Mr. Geo. Turner, 
 of Horton Grange. The manorial rights are held by Mr. 
 James Cousen and Miss Rawson, the latter claiming the 
 minerals and the former exercising a right over the 
 remainder of the manorial property, which is very small. 
 There are many small freeholders, which is accounted for 
 by the fact that the holdings in the manor from very early 
 times were granted in fee, subject only to military service and 
 nominal rents. The township comprises 2170 acres of land, 
 and is still nominally divided into the constabularies of Great
 
 Rambles Round Norton. 5 
 
 and Little Horton, which until recently were defined by a 
 boundary line, drawn from Fieldhead Dyeworks to Shearbridge, 
 then following the course of the beck which runs through 
 Horton Park it proceeds forward to the top of Haycliffe Hill, 
 indicating the Horton wards of the borough. Since the 
 recent extension of the borough, however, the old boundaries 
 have been materially interfered with. 
 
 As to the origin of names found in the township we have 
 no striking derivations to offer. Horton probably gave its 
 name to the family which for generations held possessions 
 there, although resident elsewhere. Originally we may assume 
 that the " ton " or enclosure was situated upon the lower level, 
 but the exact site is left to conjecture. Shearbridge probably 
 obtained its name from the fact that there the streams, 
 " sheared " or separated before, came together, the brooks from 
 Beckside and Horton uniting in their onward course to 
 Westbrook. As to Laistridge Lane, it may be that the 
 immediate district forms the " least ridge " of the hills in the 
 vicinity. Hollingwood Lane evidently derives its name from 
 the holly bushes which once lined the neighbouring banks, 
 and the name is perpetuated in the title given to Holly Bank, 
 the residence of Mr. John Ramsden. Jer Lane is from 
 Jeremiah Holdsworth, a yeoman in that neighbourhood. A 
 former historian has jumped to the too ready conclusion 
 that Beldon Hill owes it name to very remote times. It 
 is not so. Beldon Hill is not the hill of Bael or Bel, but 
 of one William Beldon, who owned land there so recently 
 as 1800; while Pickles Hill has a similar origin. "Ewe 
 Clews" is of less satisfactory explanation, as the place is 
 variously styled Ewe, Yew, How, Hew, and High. It may 
 have have been an inclosure for sheep, or a plantation of 
 yew trees, or have taken its name from the clew or clough 
 of the water-mill situate hard by. The name " Thiefscore " 
 arouses unpleasant doubts as to the morality of the 
 neighbourhood, but there is a Paradise in the township, 
 which may be taken as a set-off Many other possible 
 derivations may be suggested as we patrol the township, 
 but before doing this we must glance at the ancient history 
 of the place.
 
 6 Rambles Round Norton. 
 
 From Domesday Book, that source of historic information 
 to which the historian first turns, we learn that from the 
 eadiest times Horton formed a hamlet dependent on the 
 manor of Bradford. The first man of consequence named in 
 connection with the place was Robert de Stapleton, who is 
 mentioned as living in the reign of Henry II. (1154-89). His 
 son Hugh, who took the name of Horton, received from 
 Robert de Lacy, the lord of the manor of Bradford, a grant 
 of land extending to the very verge of the town, showing 
 that he must have been in considerable fa^^our with his 
 superior lord. The land remained in the Horton family 
 until the reign of Edward I., Vv'hen Hugh dying without male 
 issue it descended to his daughter, who had married Wm. 
 Leventhorp. He was the head of the ancient family deriving 
 their name from Leventhorp or Lenthrop, in Thornton 
 township. In the reign of Henry VII. the manor of Horton 
 passed into the hands of the Lacies of Cromwellbotham (a 
 secondary branch of the greater Lacies), by the marriage of 
 John Lacy with Alice Leventhorpe. The Hortons had by 
 this time settled at Barkisland, in Halifax parish, and in 
 1639 William Horton, of Firth House, purchased the 
 Howroyde estate, whose family have been in possession of to 
 the .present time, the present owner of Howroyde and the 
 representative of the Horton family being Capt. Joshua 
 Thomas Horton, J. P. In 1640, Joshua Horton, of Sowerby, 
 a member of a junior branch of the Horton family, 
 repurchased the manor of Horton formerly belonging to his 
 ancestors, along with that of Thornton. His son Elkanah, 
 a barrister, who died in 1728, lived at Thornton Hall. 
 Thomas Horton, the grandson of Joshua of Sowerby, resided 
 at Chadderton, near Manchester, which had been purchased 
 by his father, and was Deputy-Governor of the Isle of Man. 
 His eldest son, William, was made a baronet, and the present 
 owner of Howroyde is the twice great grandson of Sir W. 
 Horton's younger brother, Joshua Thomas. It is said that 
 the Hortons, while lords of the manor, had in ancient days a 
 manor house a little to the east of Great Horton, the site of 
 which has been since known as Hall Yard, but there is no 
 evidence in support of the tradition beyond the name.
 
 Rambles Round Morton. 7 
 
 The recent ownership of the manor of Horton may be 
 recorded in few words. From Joshua Horton the manorial 
 estate came to his descendant, Sir Watts Horton, of 
 Chadderton, through his father. Sir William Horton. Sir 
 Watts married Lady Henrietta Stanley, whose daughter, 
 Henrietta Susanna, married Charles Rees, of Liverpool, who 
 altered his name to Rhyss, and of the marriage came two sons 
 and four daughters. Dame Henrietta died in 1827, leaving as 
 her heir, Charles Horton Rhyss, who then came into possession 
 of the manorial and other property of the Horton family. 
 This gentleman led a somewhat erratic life, being a captain 
 in the army, and for many years a comedian, acting under 
 the nam dc plume of "Morton Price." Upon several occasions 
 he occupied Bradford theatres under that name, but was 
 generally in the United States and Canada. 
 
 In October, 1858, he caused the manorial property to 
 be sold by auction, when Mr. Wm. Cousen purchased 
 the lordship of Horton, with hereditaments, &c., thereto 
 belonging, comprising a messuage known as the Manor 
 House, a cottage, the pinfold, &c., and also the fee farm rents, 
 generally called "Lord's rents," which realised £,\2 ys. 8d. 
 per annum. His son, Mr. James Cousen, is the present lord 
 of the manor. Dracup's trustees purchased the old corn mill 
 and water rights connected therewith, occupied by John 
 Beanland, and comprising the dam field, West Croft, &c. 
 
 Much might be stated as to the manor of Horton which 
 cannot be admitted here. But this may be observed, that 
 whilst Bowling, for instance, was a mesne manor like Horton, 
 yet none of the tenants of the former acknowledged as chief 
 only the lord of Boiling, who himself, for all, did suit to the 
 Lacies. The manor of Horton was practically independent 
 while the tenants named held directly of the manor of 
 Bradford. It is an anomaly which needs further explanation. 
 
 Before completing the story of the manorial succession, 
 however, we may again make reference to the old Manor 
 Court records as transcribed by Mr, Empsall, with the view 
 of forming an estimate of the population of Horton during 
 those early times. For this purpose the surveys made at the 
 instance of the Lacy family afford some data, although to a
 
 8 Rambles Round Horton. 
 
 large extent the township had been alienated from the Lacy- 
 fee, and was enjoyed by the Horton family. In the survey of 
 1342 only ten tenants of the Lacies are named, and they all 
 belonged to the class of tenantry called " freemen," persons 
 who had emancipated themselves from serfdom and had 
 become possessed of land as customary tenants, i.e., copyhold 
 tenure. For their holdings they rendered certain services 
 in the manor courts. Several of the tenants occupied 
 an exceptional position, and of these was Roger de 
 Manningham, who held a messuage and two bovates of 
 land (about 16 acre.s) by the service of "going with his lord 
 to Blackburnshire (of which they were lords) with a lance 
 and a dog for forty days to hunt wild boars, receiving i^^d. a 
 day wages, also to be ready and willing to appear yearly at 
 Bradford at the feast of St. Martin if required, to do suit of 
 court at Bradford every three weeks, and give to the lord 3d. 
 at the time of the Invention of the Holy Cross, in lieu of the 
 work of one plough, and at seed time is. 4d. annually for his 
 freedom." Thomas de Northrop, one of the Manningham 
 tenants, had to render to the chief identical service with that 
 of de Manningham in accompanying the lord in his journeys 
 into Lancashire. But Northrop had six bovates of land, or 
 about fifty acres, and three messuages, which were burdened 
 on succession with heriots in the shape of the best beast in 
 the herd to the lord. He had also to pay 8d. annually, in 
 lieu of farm labour at seed time. 
 
 The Abbot of Kirkstall also held about forty acres of 
 land in this township, by the gift of a pair of white spurs. 
 The land in question was, after the dissolution of the 
 monasteries, acquired by Richard Lyster, who, in addition to 
 the spurs, rendered military service. But by an inquisition 
 post moi'teni., 2nd Ed. VI., he held more than the abbots did, 
 and it may be the extra land which imposed the latter 
 burden. This land was held by the same tenure for several 
 centuries, and was doubtless situate in Thornton Lane, 
 extending to Burnet Field, in Bowling. William le Maisson 
 held two bovates and a messuage, for which he tendered a 
 ploughshare yearly to the lord on his coming to Bradford at 
 the feast of St. Martin, and performed service of court every
 
 Rambles Round H or ton. 9 
 
 three weeks. Brian dc Thornhill held a piece of land, for 
 which he paid 2s. annually. 
 
 The remaining seven tenants of Horton held their 
 allotments by foreign military service at the command of 
 their lord. They also paid a rent varying from i^d. to 4d. 
 per acre, and i|d each per bovate instead of ploughing in 
 spring. Hugh de Rochdale, one of them, for instance, held a 
 messuage and two bovates of land, which was called the i6th 
 part of a knight's fee, paying 2s. yearly for the land, and 3d. 
 instead of labour, while William le Roy paid 6s. 6d. for a 
 messuage and \\ bovates, and 2\di. instead of ploughing, and 
 all other service similar to that rendered by Hugh, 
 
 Another source from which we may gather information 
 as to the inhabitants of Horton during the fourteenth century 
 is the lay subsidy or poll-tax of 2nd of Richard H. (1379). 
 The list is as follows : — 
 
 Thos. filius Rogeri, mercator. & uxor 
 
 Ricardus de Skircote & uxor 
 
 Rogerus filius Rogeri & uxor 
 
 Thos. del Bryg & uxor 
 
 Willelmus Leman & uxor 
 
 Johannes de Wodehale & uxor ... 
 
 Thos. filius Gilberti & uxor 
 
 Johannes filius Ade «& uxor 
 
 Thos. Machon & uxor 
 
 Wilhelmus filius Robert! & uxor ... 
 Wilhelmus Hawmerode & uxor ... 
 
 Thos. Gabriel & uxor 
 
 Thomas Hunsselet & uxor 
 
 Johannes de Holyns & uxor 
 
 Johannes de Newall & uxor 
 
 Wilhelmus de Hawmonrode &: uxor 
 
 Thos. filius Wilhelmi & u.xor 
 
 Alicia filia Rogeri 
 
 Annabella Leman 
 
 Alicia filia Johannis 
 
 Agnes filia Johannis 
 
 Eva Machon 
 
 Johannis Sementhorn 
 
 Johannis de Bryg 
 
 xijd. 
 iiijd. 
 iiijd. 
 iiijd. 
 iiijd. 
 iiijd. 
 iiijd. 
 iiijd. 
 iiijd. 
 iiijd. 
 iiijd. 
 iiijd. 
 iiijd. 
 iiijd. 
 iiijd. 
 iiijd. 
 iiijd. 
 iiijd. 
 iiijd. 
 iiijd. 
 iiijd. 
 iiijd. 
 iiijd. 
 iiijd. 
 
 Summa, viijs. viijd
 
 10 Rambles Round Horton. 
 
 The list is copied verbatim, retaining the ancient form of spel- 
 Hng, and the amounts at which the inhabitants were assessed. 
 Here, again, is a singular anomaly, not one of the military 
 tenants of Horton named in the survey of 1342 occurring in 
 the poll-tax list. Could it be that this class of tenants were 
 exempt from this tax on account of their military service .'' 
 It was the levying of this poll-tax which exasperated the 
 populace to rise in rebellion under Wat Tyler. The total 
 amount of the taxation raised, it will be seen, was 8s. 8d. 
 Only one inhabitant at that period ranked as a merchant, and 
 the amount extracted from him and his wife was I2d. The 
 remainder were all of the humblest class of householders, 
 and paid 4d. (a groat) each couple, a similar amount being 
 apparently exacted from the single persons. Young persons 
 under sixteen and persons in a state of mendicancy were 
 exempted. While from these causes we are not able to 
 number the population of Horton at that time, we can at 
 least compare its standing with other places. Halifax, for 
 instance, only raised 12s. 8d., and Bradford 23s., the tradesmen 
 in the latter place being a fuller, a mason, two tailors, two 
 shoemakers, and three innkeepers. 
 
 In only a few cases in the above list does there appear 
 any semblance to existing Horton nomenclature. It would 
 appear to have been generally deemed sufficient to distinguish 
 a Hortonian by describing him as the son of his father, a like 
 rule applying to the females. A similar custom still prevails 
 in alluding to a person as Bob o' Doads o' Sams. In other 
 instances it is evident that the Christian name was associated 
 with that of the place whence the person came, as Richard of 
 Skircoat, John of Newhall, and John of Woodhall. The 
 Brygs and Hawmonrodes and Holyns are easy of identification 
 with names still existing in the township, although in some- 
 what disguised forms, as in the case of the descendants of 
 the Hawmonrodes, who are now known as Hammonds and 
 Ormanroyds. The Christian names of William, Thomas, and 
 John were evidently as common five hundred years ago as at 
 the present day. 
 
 The following list of Horton freeholders, taken from the 
 subsidy roll of 1608, which is preserved at Howroyd, confirms
 
 Rambles Rottnd Horton. 
 
 11 
 
 families of 
 
 the period 
 
 Assessed. 
 
 raid. 
 
 ... xxxs. 
 
 iiijs. 
 
 xxs. 
 
 ijs. viijd. 
 
 xxs. 
 
 ijs. viijd. 
 
 xxs. 
 
 ijs. viijd. 
 
 xxs. 
 
 ijs. viijd. 
 
 xxs. 
 
 ijs. viijd. 
 
 xxs. 
 
 ijs. viijd. 
 
 xxs. 
 
 ijs. viijd. 
 
 xxs. 
 
 ijs. viijd. 
 
 xxs. 
 
 ijs. viijd. 
 
 xxs. 
 
 ijs. viijd. 
 
 our impressions as to the principal families of the period. It 
 
 is as follows : — 
 
 Robertus Boothe, in lands 
 Thos. Sharp, jun. 
 Thos. Sharp, sen. 
 
 John Lyster 
 
 Georgius Holdsworth... 
 Will'ms Mortimer 
 
 John Feild 
 
 Johannes Nicholls 
 Gilbertus Brooksbank 
 Chrste'rus Swayne 
 John Sharp 
 
 Summa vill, xxxs. viijd. 
 Advancin"" a couple of centuries we are able from other 
 sources to estimate with tolerable accuracy the material 
 importance of the township of Horton, if not the number of 
 its inhabitants. In Sir John Maynard's valuation of the 
 tythes of Bradford parish, taken in 1638, the two Hortons 
 are put down as valued at ^^603 os. 6d. In this township the 
 tythes were reckoned by oxgangs (or as much land as an ox 
 could plough in a season^, an oxgang containing, one with 
 another, about ten acres, and the tythe of an oxgang was 
 valued at £'/. In Great Horton the principal contributor 
 was Gilbert Brooksbank, who paid ;^35 on five oxgangs of 
 land ; John Mortimer, of Scholcmoor, ;^2i on three oxgangs ; 
 Widow Holyns and Jonas Hammond, on two oxgangs ; \Vm. 
 Mortimer, three oxgangs ; John Booth, five and a-third. In 
 Little Horton the principal contributors were John Sharp, 
 jun., four oxgangs ; Jolin Sharp, sen., two and three-quarter 
 oxgangs ; John Lister, " who pretends his land is tythe free 
 because of the Cistercian Order, yet pays tythe in kind to Sir 
 Richard Tempest" (of whom or through whom he probably 
 obtained it. Tempest and others having secured large 
 quantities of abbey lands at the dissolution), three and 
 a-half oxgangs ; William Walker, two and a-third oxgangs ; 
 Thomas Swaine, two oxgangs ; William Booth, two oxgangs ; 
 Samuel Swaine, one and three-quarter oxgangs ; Thomas 
 Balme, the eighteenth part of an oxgang, which was valued 
 as one.
 
 12 Rambles Round Horton. 
 
 What was called hearth-money or the hearth-tax was a 
 levy upon all householders according to the number of their 
 fires. It was originally established by William the Conqueror, 
 and was continued under Parliamentary sanction by Charles II., 
 but the impost was abolished under William and Mary. In 
 the collection of this tax for the year 1666 we find the names 
 of the following residents of Great and Little Horton, who 
 were the most substantial people of the period, viz.: — Isaac 
 Sharpe, five hearths ; John Sharpe, seven ; Thomas Swaine, 
 three; Abm. Swaine, two; Robert Swaine, two; Joseph 
 Lister, four ; Andrew Hodgson, four ; Thos. Pighles, four ; 
 Wm. Mortimer, four; Richard Thornton, three; Mary Mortimer, 
 four ; Gilbert Brooksbank, two ; Will Hammond, three. The 
 total number of hearths paid for in the township was 208, 
 James Swaine being constable during the collection. The 
 complete list of householders would have been interesting had 
 space permitted of it being given. As compared with the 
 township of Bradford, however, Horton appears to have stood 
 well ; Bradford East having had 206, and Bradford West 301 
 hearths taxed. 
 
 The land and property tax of 1704 contains a more 
 complete list of owners of land and buildings at that period 
 than can be obtained from any other source, and from it we 
 cull the following particulars of the principal persons assessed 
 in Horton. The tax was at the rate of 4s. in the pound, and 
 was levied by order of Parliament in aid of the State. The 
 list is as follows : — 
 
 
 I 
 
 s. 
 
 d. 
 
 
 L 
 
 s. 
 
 d. 
 
 Gilbert Brooksbank — 
 
 
 
 
 Wm. Mortimer 
 
 3 
 
 15 
 
 
 
 For self and Booth's 
 
 
 
 
 Isaac Rollings 
 
 I 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 land 
 
 4 
 
 17 
 
 1\ 
 
 Thos. Hodgson 
 
 I 
 
 19 
 
 4^ 
 
 Scholemoor land ... 
 
 I 
 
 2 
 
 6 
 
 Jas. Hall 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 
 
 Nichols' land 
 
 
 
 7 
 
 6 
 
 Thos. Pighills 
 
 I 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 Westcroft and 
 
 
 
 
 Wm. Blackburn 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 1\ 
 
 Healds 
 
 
 
 6 
 
 3 
 
 John Ashton 
 
 I 
 
 II 
 
 io| 
 
 Sugden's land 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 n 
 
 Robert Fo.x, for ye 
 
 
 
 
 Hammond's land... 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 io\ 
 
 milne 
 
 
 
 18 
 
 i| 
 
 Cockroyd's 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 3 
 
 Rich. Thornton 
 
 1 
 
 II 
 
 3 
 
 Jas. Swaine's land.. 
 
 
 
 6 
 
 io| 
 
 Abm. Swaine, How 
 
 
 
 
 Jewitt's land 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 io| 
 
 Clews 
 
 
 
 II 
 
 
 Sarah Brooksbank 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 Henry Lancaster ... 
 
 I 
 
 2 
 
 6
 
 Rambles Round Norton. 
 
 13 
 
 
 
 £ 
 
 s. 
 
 d. 
 
 
 £ 
 
 s. 
 
 d. 
 
 Robt. Swaine, Hunt 
 
 
 
 
 Chris. Swaine 
 
 I 
 
 15 
 
 6 
 
 Yard 
 
 • . • 
 
 I 
 
 6 
 
 3 
 
 Jer. Roods 
 
 I 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 Jonas Hopkinson 
 
 
 I 
 
 7 
 
 6 
 
 Lionel Knowlcs 
 
 o 
 
 18 
 
 6 
 
 Win. Mortimer 
 
 
 I 
 
 lO 
 
 7\ 
 
 Abram Balme 
 
 o 
 
 15 
 
 
 
 Thos. Swaine ... 
 
 • ■ • 
 
 I 
 
 lO 
 
 7h 
 
 Mr. Wm Swaine ... 
 
 I 
 
 17 
 
 6 
 
 Mr. Wm. Rawson, 
 
 for 
 
 
 
 
 Thos. Ferrand 
 
 I 
 
 2 
 
 6 
 
 cole mine 
 
 
 I 
 
 o 
 
 o 
 
 John Bower 
 
 I 
 
 10 
 
 6 
 
 Mrs. Sharp 
 
 . . • 
 
 4 
 
 17 
 
 6 
 
 Mr. Rawson, for 
 
 
 
 
 John Lister 
 
 
 4 
 
 o 
 
 o 
 
 tythe 
 
 I 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 Joshua Stansfield 
 
 
 I 
 
 5 
 
 o 
 
 Mr. Horton, for his 
 
 
 
 
 Isaac Sharp 
 
 • . • 
 
 3 
 
 II 
 
 J 
 
 Lord's Rent ... ... 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 
 
 Abm. Jewitt 
 
 • . • 
 
 I 
 
 2 
 
 6 
 
 - 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Mary Thornton 
 
 ■ . ■ 
 
 I 
 
 4 
 
 o 
 
 Total for the 
 
 
 
 
 Wm. Blaymires 
 
 ... 
 
 o 
 
 6 
 
 o 
 
 township... £ 
 
 too 
 
 10 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 Chrisr. Swaine, ) , 
 
 THOS. Swaine, [ Assessors. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Bartholc 
 James Ha 
 
 )mew Lancaster, ) ^ „ 
 
 ^ ^ T i Collectors 
 
 LL, Jun., S 

 
 14 Rambles Round Horton. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Surveys of 1802 and i839^Parochial Matters — Horton Constables — Overseers — Old 
 Workhouse — Highway Surveyors — Highway Board— Horton Councillors. 
 
 We have before us the plan of Great and Little Horton, 
 the result of a survey made " by order of the inhabitants " in 
 1802, by William Basset, land surveyor. It contains references 
 to the owners of every plot of land and field in the township 
 at tJiat period, and for the purposes we have in view is a 
 most valuable record. We append a list of the principal 
 landowners at the period in question, as follows : — Messrs. 
 F. S. Bridges, Richard Hodgson, Charles S. B. Sharp, Joseph 
 Stocks, Mrs. Lister, Mary Brooksbank, Mrs. Hodsden, Mr. 
 Gorton, Miss Bower, Wm. Blamires, J. Blamires' trustees, 
 John Booth, Gregory Fox, Susannah Swaine, James Swaine, 
 Mr. Holden, Pollard & Co., Jarratt & Co., Jacob Hudson's 
 trustees, Mrs. llutton's trustees, John Balme, Jeremiah 
 Thornton, John Tommis, William Beldon, and Jonas Jowett. 
 
 A survey was also made by Mr. Samuel Wormald, of 
 Beeston, in 1839, including a valuation of the township, from 
 which it appears that the total area was 1935 acres, and the 
 ratable value ^^32,7 11. The principal land and property 
 owners at that period were Francis Sharp Bridges, Miss 
 Jowett, Ellis Cunliffe Lister, Mrs. Ann Giles, Colonel 
 Fitzgerald, Messrs. Hird, Dawson & Hardy, Thos. B. 
 Charnock, John Bower, Charles, Henry, and Alfred Harris,- 
 John and William Rand, Samuel and VVm. Blamires, Joseph 
 Beanland's trustees, John Hustler, William Fox, Dracup's 
 trustees, John Haley, Eli Suddards, Watson Cryer, Hudson's 
 trustees, John Crook, I'rancis Ackroyd, Robert Stables 
 Ackroyd, Nathan Bentley, John Blackburn, John and Squire 
 Stowell, John Jennings, and Daniel Armitage, 
 
 The absence of any town's books or connected records 
 of township business seriously interferes with the work of 
 the historian, and, in respect to the township of Horton, 
 practically results in our being obliged to leave the period
 
 Rambles Round Morton. 15 
 
 prior to tlie present century almost a blank so far as parochial 
 matters are concerned. After all, the omission may be 
 imaginatively supplied by a knowledge of the routine 
 of township government and township affairs in similar 
 places. Horton would in the " olden time," we presume, 
 be governed upon the most economical principles, its 
 inhabitants expending as much upon the repair of roads 
 and the salaries of its parochial officers as was consistent 
 with a small highway rate, and no more — the burden of an 
 additional penny in the pound upon a ratal valuation being 
 as intolerable to Hortonian ratepayers as to those in any 
 other part of the country. 
 
 The township officially managed its own affairs from a 
 central point of inspiration, namely, the parish vestry, at 
 which place all meetings affecting town's business were 
 held, and where all appointments were officially made. 
 Presumably, too, there would during each generation be 
 a coterie of townsmen who, except they were more than 
 ordinarily virtuous, worked for each other's benefit quite as 
 much as for that of the township. Although these parochial 
 patriots rendered service without recognised fee or reward 
 so far as salary was concerned, tradition has it that the 
 weekly dinners at Lidget Green were looked upon as some 
 recompense, and were relinquished only after strong protests 
 made by unprivileged ratepayers, whose notions of patriotic 
 service failed to accord with such " guzzling " at the town's 
 expense. 
 
 As already stated, the township of Horton is still 
 nominally divided into the constabularies of Great and Little 
 Horton, but practically into wards for municipal purposes. 
 Prior to the advent of the Corporation, the jurisdiction of 
 the old Lighting and Watching Commissioners of Bradford 
 extended to " part of the hamlet of Little Horton," which, 
 however, only included a very small portion of the hamlet, 
 namely, that lying near to the junction of Manchester Road^ 
 Horton Lane, and Horton Road. The larger portion of the 
 township, therefore, was managed as previously described, and 
 left in darkness. It was left to the enterprise of the trustees 
 of the Wesleyan Chapel to introduce gas into Great Horton,
 
 16 Rambles Round Horton. 
 
 which they did for the purpose of lighting the chapel. It 
 was soon afterwards made at Cousen's Mill, and at some 
 other manufacturing establishments, until the Corporation 
 ventured to assume that probably Great Horton might be 
 a profitable customer, and carried gas mains to the place. 
 
 For highway purposes Great and Little Horton were 
 divided, but in the administration of the Poor Law the 
 township was united as at present. Once a year town's 
 meetings were held at the vestry of the Bell Chapel, at 
 which highway surveyors, churchwardens, overseers, and 
 constables were appointed and a rate was laid, an occasion 
 sufficiently exciting to arouse whatever local enthusiasm was 
 existent. Bell Chapel, however, was only erected in 1808, 
 and prior to that period parochial officers were elected at the 
 parish vestry at Bradford. Among the earliest churchwardens 
 whose names we have met with were Thomas Hodgson and 
 Ezra Thornton, wardens for Great and Little Hortons in 
 1765 ; Samuel Swaine, Legrams, being overseer for the same 
 year. Jos. Beanland, cornmiller, was the first churchwarden 
 at the Bell Chapel, and held that office for many years, 
 Messrs. Samuel and Richard Lumby also filling the office. 
 
 Horton constables of the manor of Bradford were also 
 appointed at the " Court Leet," held for the purpose at 
 Bradford, and of these a tolerable record is preserved, but 
 we must be content with mentioning those holding office for 
 the following years, viz. : — Gregory Fox, constable for 1795, 
 Joshua Stanfield deputy; Samuel Lumby, constable for 1820, 
 Francis Ackroyd, deputy ; 1822, Joseph Barrans, Little 
 Horton ; Thomas Ramsden, Great Horton ; 1827, Wm. 
 Blamires, Great Horton ; Wm. Cass, Little Horton ; 1832, 
 Dan Haley, Great Horton ; John Stowell, Little Horton. 
 As a rule, there were one chief constable and two deputies, 
 and among the more recent chiefs were Wm. Swaine, Cowling 
 Ackroyd, John Smith, Joseph Bakes, &c., and of the deputies 
 Thomas Carter, John Haley, and John Liversedge. John 
 Clough was bellman at Great Horton for several years, but 
 was forcibly deprived by having the bell taken from him by 
 Cowling Ackroyd and John Smith in 1839, for announcing 
 a Chartist meeting. The inhabitants, indignant at such
 
 Rambles Round Hortori. 17 
 
 conduct, subscribed for another bell, and presented it to 
 him to be used for all purposes. The town's bell was given 
 to Samuel Fieldhouse, who held it for several years, and 
 was succeeded by George Storey, who was for many years 
 court-leet constable, bellman, and pinder for Great Horton. 
 The office of court-leet constable is now inoperative, owing to 
 the introduction of the borough police, but the appointment 
 is still made at the Manor Court of the Honour of Pontcfract, 
 held yearly at the Market Tavern, Bradford, Mr. Wm. 
 Greaves, solicitor, bcHng steward and judge. 
 
 The administration of relief to the poor of Horton, 
 happily never an arduous task, was effected during the 
 early years of the century by a small, if not practicall}' 
 self-elected body, comprising amongst its number John 
 Jennings, Wm. Blamires, Isaac Clough, Dan Booth, Richard 
 and Sammy Lumb}', and John Sm.ith, with Abraham l?alme, 
 of Horton Green, as assistant-overseer and rate collector. 
 This body met once a week to dispense the poor relief, the 
 workhouse then being in the grounds now constituting Horton 
 Park. Tom Carter, who was also a cow doctor and dentist, 
 was the first workhouse master of whom we have any record. 
 It is said that his practice of dentistry was attended with 
 unpleasant effects upon some of the unfortunate inmates 
 under his charge ! Jeremy Haley succeeded Carter, and 
 gathered the rates as well ; and he was followed by Dan 
 Booth and Wm. Marshall. At that period there were only 
 nine or ten inmates of the " house." 
 
 The old workhouse was taken down about the year 1822, 
 soon after the removal of the institution to a building now 
 standing at Horton Green, which was erected for the purpose 
 by the overseers of the township. The workhouse property at 
 Great Horton having been purchased by Mr. Noble, a cloth 
 merchant, of Leeds, for his son, Mr. Ed. Noble, the latter 
 erected the residence now standing in Horton park, which he 
 styled W'ellclose House. He also planted the ^q\\ old trees 
 remaining in the park, and built a tower or bath-house over 
 the cold spring of water, one of three springs known as the 
 " tea well," the " bath well," and the " workhouse well," the 
 latter having been used for bathing the paupers. Succeeding
 
 18 Rambles Round Hortoji. 
 
 tenants of Wellclose House have been Mr. Richard Denton, 
 who Hved in it a long time, and Mr. Edwin Bentley. 
 
 The Bradford Union was constituted under the New 
 Poor Law in Feb., 1837, and comprised among its twenty 
 townships that of Horton, Mr. Abraham Balme being 
 assistant-overseer. On Mr. Bahne's retirement in 1839 Mr. 
 Thos. Myers obtained the appointment to his office, and soon 
 afterwards Mr. Jonas Jennings was made reheving officer, 
 a position which he held for many years. In August, 
 1848, the Bradford Poor-law Union was divided, and the 
 townships of the borough, viz., Bradford, Bowling, Horton, 
 and Manningham, were formed into one union, and what is 
 now known as the North Bierley Union into another. In the 
 same year Mr, Myers, being wishful of being relieved from 
 the duty of collecting the poor rates, gave up £^0 of his 
 salary towards the stipend of an assistant, and Mr. Benjamin 
 Crabtree was appointed to the office. Mr. Richard Poole is 
 the present assistant-overseer. The Bradford workhouse, 
 which js in Horton township, is situated in an enclosure 
 comprising about fourteen acres of land, and was erected 
 in 185 1-2, at a cost of i^i 1,000. It has since been enlarged 
 at a further cost of ;^i6,ooo; thus, with the value of the site, 
 the workhouse represents Union property worth ;i^32,ooo. It 
 has accommodation for 1000 inmates. 
 
 The records of the transactions of the highway surveyors 
 are scarcely more ample than those relating to other parochial 
 matters until we reach the period when the Board of Highway 
 Surveyors was constituted. In the year 1840, at a meeting 
 held at the old Bell Chapel, Messrs. Samuel Lumby, 
 Scholemoor ; John Jennings, Low Close House ; Thomas 
 Ramsden, High Street ; Joseph Waterhouse, Bank Top ; 
 Samuel Dracup, Pickles Lane ; Wm. Bakes, jun., Horton 
 Road ; and Robert Shepherd, Southgate, were appointed 
 a board for the repair of the highways of Great Horton. 
 At the same time Jeremiah Briggs was appointed acting 
 surveyor. The first meeting was held at the Fleece Inn, 
 kept by Wm. Bakes, the site of which is now occupied by 
 the Congregational Schools, and the next meeting was held 
 at the George and Uragon, the custom being to patronise
 
 Rambles Roinni H or ton. 19 
 
 the several " pubs " in the district in strict rotation. Ahnost 
 the first item recorded in the proceedings for the year 1S40 
 has reference to a matter which is still remembered as 
 furnishing material for much angry disputation at the time 
 it took place, namely, the question of the repair of Beldon 
 Hill Road. In the minutes of the meeting of the Highway 
 Board on June ist we read : — 
 
 " That an appeal against the items expended on the Beldon Hill 
 Road, and entered in the late Surveyor's accounts, be entered and 
 prosecuted at the ensuing sessions to be held at Bradford, we the said 
 Board not acknowledging the aforesaid road as belonging to the 
 township, it liaving never been repaired at the expense of the township 
 previously." Moved by Thomas Ramsden, and seconded by Samuel 
 Lumby, and carried unanimously, " That Mr. Cowling Ackroyd and 
 Mr. Nathan Bentley be appointed by this Board to enter and prosecute 
 the aforesaid appeal at the ensuing sessions." 
 
 It appears that the road at Beldon Hill was, prior to 
 1840, in a very disreputable condition— almost impassable, 
 or, as the old inhabitants describe it, " up tut knav i' muck " 
 It so fell out, however, that Abraham Bairstow, of Hill 
 End, was appointed surveyor, and, having some grounds for 
 deeming the township liable to its repair, or else considering 
 the existing state of things a reproach to the neighbourhood, 
 he determined to exercise his authority as surveyor in the 
 interest of the dwellers and frequenters of the uplands of 
 Beldon Hill. Accordingly he put the road into a tolerable 
 state of repair, rendering due account to the local authority. 
 This course of the surveyor was stoutly resisted by the 
 Board, representing for the most part those ratepayers who 
 scarcely ever ascended to Beldon Hill, and led to the appeal 
 referred to in the minute. Bairstow, however, resisted the 
 appeal, and won the case ; but even this did not appease 
 the "Lords of Horton," who carried the case to the Court 
 of Queen's Bench, compelling the patriotic surveyor to follow 
 and maintain his cause. This he did principal)}- at his own 
 cost, and again came off triumphantly, but it is said that the 
 drain upon his resources was such as to reduce him in worldly 
 position — a circumstance not altogether to the credit of his 
 neighbours, for whom he had waged and won a substantial 
 point. At any rate, Beldon Hill Road, and Jer Lane as well.
 
 20 Rambles Round H or ton. 
 
 have been repaired at the public expense ever since Bairstow's 
 victory, and are now in tolerable condition. 
 
 At a meeting of the Highway Board held in March, 
 1 84 1, Thomas Myers was appointed clerk and treasurer of 
 the Board without salary, Samuel Harrison being elected 
 collector at a salary of ;^io per annum, and Samuel Lumby 
 overseer of the road-men. The highway rate for that period 
 was 7d. in the pound. This arrangement continued until 
 March, 1846, when Alfred Hind Denton was elected clerk 
 at a salary of £2 per annum, and Wm. Keighley acting 
 surveyor and treasurer, Samuel Harrison continuing his office 
 of collector. The members of the Board had also undergone 
 revision during the interval, Messrs. Richard Denton, Jos. 
 Hirst, Wm. Keighley, David Mortimer, Chas. Bennett, John 
 Parker, and Henry Sagar being the members for 1846, and 
 Mr. Richard Denton chairman. We also meet with the 
 several names of Nathan Bentley, Luke Blamires, William 
 Keighley, William Fox, sen., David Mortimer, and William 
 Moorhouse as having held the office. In April, 1847, "for 
 certain considerations" understood between Mr. Horsfall, of the 
 Mansion House, and the Board, that gentleman was allowed 
 to enclose the plot of ground near his residence, then used as 
 a dross-hill, and which was originally taken from the waste. 
 
 At the annual meeting held for the re-election of the 
 Highway Board in March, 1849, something approaching to a 
 " row " appears to have taken place, one section present 
 being evidently determined to oust the members previously 
 holding office and to substitute others. No less than four 
 names were submitted for the office of chairman, but 
 ultimately Mr. Wm. Buckle was elected ; and a motion was 
 proposed that the old members, viz., Messrs. John Wade, 
 John Burrows, William Burrows, Jonathan Emsley, Samuel 
 Wood, William Murgatroyd, Daniel Dracup, Dan Haley, John 
 Bastow, Jeremiah Rudd, and William Moorhouse constitute 
 the Board for the ensuing year. Wheireupon a counter-list of 
 names was submitted, containing those of Thomas Cockroft, 
 Edwin Bentley, Luke Blamires, Job Robertshaw, Samuel 
 Denton, William l^uckle, John Jennings, and William Cousen. 
 The old members, however, were carried by a large majority,
 
 Ra)]iblcs Round Hortoii. 21 
 
 and at the subsequent meeting of the Board the following 
 officers were appointed : — Chairman, John Wade ; treasurer, 
 William Moorhouse ; collector, George I.aycock. 
 
 The books from which we derive this information give 
 little more than the ordinary formal resolutions confirming 
 what the surveyor might have done during the preceding 
 month, such as the laying of a causeway or the removal of a 
 rubbish heap. Neither do the account books offer much of 
 interest, the following being the usual form of presenting the 
 accounts. The period covered is for the year 1 849 : — • 
 
 I s d. 
 Faid for day labour 83 13 9 
 
 „ Contract work 85 i i 
 
 „ Materials 78 411 
 
 ,, Teamwork 49 18 9 
 
 „ Bills 68 12 5 
 
 „ Incidentals 487 
 
 Total expenditure for the year 
 
 i^368 19 7 
 
 This amount was raised in great part by the proceeds 
 of a highway rate of lod. in the pound, which realised 
 ^^304 13s. dgd., and by other small sums. At this period 
 the Bradford Corporation had existed over two years, and 
 Horton returned its councillors, but still the townships of the 
 borough exercised control over their own highways, and, as it 
 appears, levied rates for their maintenance. The anomaly, 
 however, was removed by the passing of the Bradford 
 Improvement Act of 1850, and by the enforcement of that 
 Act the Board of Surveyors of Horton, as well as those of 
 the other townships, was disestablished. The last meeting 
 of the Board was held at the Four Ashes Inn, kept by Mr. 
 Jeremiah Rudd, on the 3rd of March, 185 1, there being 
 present John Wade, chairman, Jeremiah Rudd, Saml. Wood, 
 Wm. Moorhouse, Dan Haley, John Bairstow, W^m. Burrows, 
 and William Murgatroyd. It may be stated parenthetically 
 that a similar authority existed for Little Horton, of which 
 Wm. Cass was surveyor, and Wm. Holdsworth collector. At 
 a more recent date Isaac Rowntrce officiated as highway 
 surveyor of Little Horton, and was taken into the service 
 of the Corporation.
 
 •22 Rambles Round Norton. 
 
 The Bradford Corporation was established in 1847, when 
 the Horton townships was divided into two wards, three 
 councillors being allotted to Great Horton and six to the 
 Little Horton Ward, which had become very populous. The 
 first burgess list of the borough comprised 5457 names, of 
 which number Great Horton Ward had 536 and Little 
 Horton 1206. The result of the first election of councillors 
 invested the following Hortonians with municipal dignity, 
 viz. : — Great Horton — Messrs. John Bartle, Wm. Buckle, and 
 John Clough. Little Horton — Samuel Bottomley, James 
 Bilton, John Clayton, John Hill, scale-beam maker, John 
 Hill, maltster, and Samuel Smith. Hot contests ensued upon 
 many subsequent occasions, especially in the Great Horton 
 section of the township, but for years this ward has been 
 practically given over to the Liberal party, so ardent in the 
 Liberal cause being the majority of the inhabitants that 
 active canvassers are in the habit of saying that Liberal 
 voters may be counted by the house-row. Li the Little 
 Horton Ward the honours have been more equally divided.
 
 Rambles Round Norton. 23 
 
 CIIAPTKR III. 
 
 The "Good Old I'imes "— The Early Clothiers— A ''Pot u' I'our" — Primitive 
 Habits--The Cliarti.sl Movement — The " Phig Riots"— The Cctlon Manufacture — 
 The Worsted Industry. 
 
 The antecedents of any community are not unfreciucntly 
 reflected in the sayings and doings of the generations which 
 follow, and so it has been in Horton. By this general term, 
 however, we must be understood to mean suburban Horton, 
 as distinguished from that portion of the town.'^hip which is 
 being rapidly absorbed in the great borough, and by the 
 overgrowth of which its once pleasant fields are being covered 
 with dwellings inhabited by people gathered from all quarters 
 of the kingdom. The overwhelming process is not yet 
 complete, however, and there still remains an element 
 strongly Hortonian, in which may be found the characteristics 
 distinguishing those who peopled the villages which were 
 dotted here and there in the Bradford-dale of a past age. 
 
 In one important feature the villagers of Florton have 
 maintained an honourable position, morally and socially. It 
 is rare to see a drunken man in the Horton of which we 
 speak. The people are thrifty and of a "saving" turn, 
 without denying themselves the comforts of life ; police 
 regulations are almost superfluous ; and in regard to material 
 wealth, there are probably a larger number of small free- 
 holders in Horton than in the majorit}- of townships in the 
 West Riding. In the various political struggles of the present 
 century Hortonians have generally been to the fore, and 
 many a veteran has suffered imprisonment for his zeal in 
 political warfare. 
 
 We have, however, to deal with a period long anterior to 
 this present age of school boards, commercial activity, and 
 cheap bread — to a time when the two hamlets of Horton had 
 undergone little change in their appearance for generations, 
 with the exception of the erection now and again of an 
 additional barn to receive the produce from a gradually 
 extended cultivation of the surrounding uplands, or the
 
 24 Rivnbles Round Norton. 
 
 rearing of a few one-storeyed dwellings for the young 
 married men or labourers employed. At that time the 
 processes of farming and of manufacturing, whether of cloth 
 or other fabrics, went hand in hand — in one case the 
 employers being styled "clothiers" and in the other "stuff 
 makers." These manufacturers, as they may be termed, 
 generally farmed their own small estates, and occupied them- 
 selves and their families alternately with the mixed labour 
 of tilling their limited acres and in combing, spinning, 
 carding, and weaving. In a large measure these old-time 
 " manufacturers " spent a life of happiness and ended their 
 da}'s in honcrurable ease. Their indoor labours were at their 
 own firesides ; they had no factory bell to obey ; if so 
 disposed (which was not often the case) they could lie in bed 
 an extra hour in the morning or take a stroll during the 
 daytime, and while the father and his sons were engaged in 
 sorting, combing, or weaving, the matronly dame and her 
 daughters under her care and eye were busily engaged in 
 spinning and reeling. 
 
 A pleasant picture this, but as time went on and the 
 process of manufacture extended to a class who were not 
 "master men" but were employed by others, the conditions of 
 life were not of a character quite so pleasant as those 
 described. Old Hortonians tell of a time when wool was 
 brought about once a month from Leeds and other places 
 to Horton, Clayton, Allerton, and other villages in Bradford- 
 dale to be carded, combed, and spun, the day of the arrival 
 being held in festive celebrations, as on those occasions a 
 " drop o' short" generally found its way into the villages. In 
 summer-time the women took out their spinning wheels to 
 the village green and upon the hillsides, v.hich then were 
 waste lands abounding with yellow furze and purple heather, 
 interspersed with huge boulders. When the women had got 
 a pound of wool from a neighbouring farmer it was spun into 
 " cops," then reeled into hanks and carried back to " t'maister," 
 who gave it out in the hank to the hand-loom weaver, who in 
 turn had to spin it on to bobbins before weaving. A girl of 
 fourteen or fifteen years would spin about ten hanks a-day, 
 which would amount to less than sixpence. Nearly every
 
 Rambles Round H or ton. 25 
 
 farmer had a comb-pot and employed a comber or two ; if he 
 was the possessor of a " pot o' four " and a pair of looms he 
 was in a large way of business. The class of goods made 
 were called "calimancoes," and were from i6in. to ipin. broad, 
 the weaver throwing the shuttle with one hand, catching it 
 with the other, and throwing it back again. The warp and 
 weft at that time were rougher than the roughest spun yarn 
 of the present day. As a consequence, many long hairs 
 protruded from the piece when completed, and these were 
 removed by the process of singeing, performed by a man who 
 went about with a piece of wood about the breadth of the 
 warp, in which candles were placed at intervals. 
 
 As the processes of manufacture were of the most 
 primitive kind, so were the habits of the people living in 
 those times. Generally speaking their dwellings were of a 
 mean description, consisting of one storey and one room, for 
 which a rental of from 30s. to 40s. a year was paid. There 
 were no weekly tenants in those days. The furniture of these 
 cottages generally consisted of a pair of looms, a bobbin- 
 wheel, a half-headed turn-up bedstead, the bed itself being 
 made of chaff; a round table standing on three legs, a few 
 turned, unpainted chairs, an old chest, and a cradle. Very 
 few indeed were possessed of a clock of any kind, or even 
 of a chest of drawers, and as the capacity of the cottage 
 precluded the possibility of a second bedstead, it not 
 unfrequently happened that the master of the house had two 
 of his olive branches at his head and two at his feet while 
 endeavouring to seek repose after the labours of the day ! 
 Where, it might be asked, were the comforts of the " good 
 old times," as compared with those enjoyed at present ? 
 In process of time the cotton industry was introduced into 
 Horton, and mills were erected specially for its manufacture, 
 but the conditions of life of the operatives were little if at all 
 the better for the introduction. It was nothing unusual for 
 the cotton mills to commence at five o'clock in the morning 
 and go on till eight at night, or any length of time that the 
 masters chose to work them, as there was no limitation of 
 hours. There was no setting off to Morecambe or the seaside 
 then on Saturday afternoons, for the piece was to hook and
 
 2() Rambles Rouna Horton. 
 
 " pike " before it could be paid for ; then probably the wife 
 had a jorum of clothes to wash or the baking to do for 
 family use. 
 
 Nor were the '' good old times " much to boast of in 
 respect to food and living. The former was of the meanest 
 description, consisting of oatmeal porridge and milk for 
 breakfast ; for dinner, potatoes and a bit of bacon fried 
 together, with a piece of oat or " haver " cake dipped in the 
 fat for a relish. An ounce of tea, which cost sixpence, served 
 for a week, and if that failed, mint and herbs were called 
 into requisition. Butter was only present on the table on 
 Sundays. Flour and wheat bread were luxuries seen on 
 particular occasions only in a working man's cottage. The 
 former was seven shillings a stone, and if a large family 
 could afford to exchange a gold piece for a stone of flour 
 they did well. Almost every household had its " milk-stick," 
 upon which notches were cut after each delivery — a most 
 ingenious preventive of fraud, as there was no fear of the 
 customer adding a notch, and he could not take one off ! 
 Tradition has it that at one time there was only one oven in 
 Great Horton, and only one spoon for a neighbourhood, but 
 tradition in this case is probably in excess of truth. It is 
 certain, however, that porridge spoons did duty for both 
 knives and forks, and so highly prized were they that within 
 recent times a youth has been known to carry his spoon all 
 day long stuck in one of the button-holes of his jacket ! As 
 to dress, a dyed cotton gown or lincey wolsey bedgown, and 
 white calico " brats " for Sundays, sufficed for the women ; 
 while the men were proud indeed if they secured a piece of 
 cloth for a coat twice in a score years. 
 
 The phraseology and mode of address of Hortonians of 
 the past receive some illustration in the response once made 
 to an exclamation of one of the " Horton Amateurs " (a noted 
 body of Thespians years ago^, who in the course of a stage 
 speech was called upon to inquire, " Who am I } " " Whah," 
 exclaimed one of the audience, " thar't one o' Robin o' Jack's 
 lot for sewer ! " The refinements of modern speech, however, 
 are fast exerting an influence in Horton, making sad havoc 
 with the mother tongue, but occasionally an unguarded native
 
 Raiiibles Round H or ton. 27 
 
 may be heard referrini^ to a neighbour as " one o' Bill o' 
 Sam's," or some equivalent form of expression. 
 
 Even in regard to Great Horton the ever-spreading 
 borough is producing some change. The Horton of fifty 
 years ago was a different place from the Horton of to-day. 
 Half a century ago it formed a distinct place, divided from 
 the town by a long stretch of green fields, the route by the 
 highway having many long and lonely stretches, which on a 
 dark winter's night were a source of dread to the timid 
 pedestrian. The roads then were not so brilliantly lighted as 
 now, and during the long, dark evenings the dim candles 
 flickering here and there in the little shops were the only aid 
 to the villager doubtful as to his whereabouts. Highway 
 robberies and burglaries were then not unfrequent occurrences j 
 so frequent in fact were they one winter, when flour was dear 
 and work scarce, that the inhabitants of Horton were called 
 up in batches to patrol the thoroughfares during the night. 
 
 This reminiscence takes us back to the time of the 
 Chartist movement, as the patrol sometimes disturbed parties 
 armed with pikes, &c., who were preparing for the great rising 
 which was to take place if the Charter were still refused. 
 During the palmy days of Feargus O'Connor's propaganda, 
 Horton was a very hotbed of Chartism, and bristled with 
 physical force men. The hand-loom weavers flourished the 
 Radical colour almost to a man, and as for the woolcombers 
 — and woolcombing was at that day an extensive industry 
 in tlie village— they received O'Connor's gospel with special 
 enthusiasm. Unlike the more taciturn hand-loom weavers, 
 they worked in batches, and the discussion of the affairs of 
 the nation, so far from hindering their work, deprived it of its 
 monotony. And so through the long days and often far into 
 the nicht— for these m.en had to work fourteen and even 
 sixteen hours a day to earn a sorry pittance — the combing 
 shops rang with wild denunciations of wrongdoers, or of 
 fervid admiration of the champion of democracy. 
 
 These combing shops were centres for the dissemination 
 of political information. The Northern Star was always 
 subscribed for, and if a school lad could be got for a reader 
 he was sure of a good audience, as all the neighbours who
 
 28 Rambles Round Hart on. 
 
 could find room congregated to hear him. The enthusiasm 
 of some of these men was something remarkable, and though 
 they may have been inferior to the working men of this 
 day in some departments of knowledge, upon all questions 
 appertaining to politics they were infinitely superior. The 
 difficulty was not then to find speakers at the many public 
 meetings which were held, but rather to find places for all 
 who were anxious to unburden their souls. Old Chartists will 
 remember the tremendous enthusiasm evoked in the village 
 by the visit of Feargus O'Connor. No royal personage could 
 have been received with greater honour than was the then 
 leader of democracy in England on that day. All the village 
 was astir almost before the morn broke, and when O'Connor 
 appeared the horses were taken from his carriage and he was 
 drawn through the streets amidst the wildest enthusiasm. 
 
 The movement known as the Plug Riots — a sort of 
 mixture of Chartism and trades unionism — was somehow 
 regarded with very little sympathy in Horton, and very few 
 compromised themselves by joining it. The sight of that 
 huge crowd of people as they marched from Halifax to 
 Bradford was not such indeed as to induce many to throw in 
 their lot with them. It was a spectacle which once seen it is 
 impossible to forget. The crowd came pouring through 
 Horton, taking the whole breadth of the wide road — a 
 gaunt, famished-looking, desperate multitude, armed with 
 huge bludgeons, flails, pitchforks, and pikes, many without 
 coats and hats, and hundreds with their clothes in rags and 
 tatters. Many of the older men looked footsore and weary, 
 but the great bulk were men in the prime of life, full of wild 
 excitement. As they marched, they thundered out to a 
 grand old tune the Union hyrnn : — 
 
 Oh, worthy is the glorious cause, 
 
 Ye patriots of the Union ; 
 Our fathers' rights, our fathers' laws, 
 
 Demand a faithful union. 
 y\ crouching dastard sure is he 
 
 Who would not strive for liberty, 
 And die to make old England free 
 
 From all her load of tyranny ; 
 Up, brave men of the Union I
 
 Rambles Round H or ton. 29 
 
 As the wild mob swept onward, terrified women brought out 
 all their eatables, and in the hope apparently of purchasing 
 their forbearance handed them to the rough-looking men who 
 crowded to the doors and windows. That some of them had 
 need of food was evident from the fact that one poor famished 
 wretch, after struggling feebly for a share of the provisions, 
 fell down on the roadside, and died just about where the 
 Liberal Club now stands. 
 
 Before referring to the growth of the worsted industry, 
 to which the township of Horton with other portions of 
 the worsted district owes its material prosperity, we may 
 supplement what has been already stated with regard to 
 the cotton manufacture, which at one time bade fair to find 
 employment for a goodly number of the inhabitants of 
 Horton and adjoining places. This industry had obtained 
 a footing during the closing years of last century, providing 
 employment principally for weavers of cotton pieces at their 
 own homes. The central market was of course Manchester, 
 to which place all the finished goods were conveyed by 
 waggons, and from whence warps were brought to the 
 Horton manufacturers. 
 
 Old people speak of Johnny Ward, of Bank Bottom, and 
 Robert King, of Town End, as among the earliest carriers 
 engaged in this business ; they being succeeded by Isaac 
 Knight (or " Neet," as he was generally called), father of John 
 and Benjamin Knight, who afterwards played a conspicuous 
 part in this manufacture. Isaac Knight was succeeded in the 
 carrying business by John and then by Tommy Knight, who 
 was the last of the family who were carriers. Their large 
 covered waggons with big wheels went to Manchester and 
 other places. John Nichol (properly Nicholson) succeeded 
 the Knights, having been brought up by them. Some of the 
 larger makers employed their own waggons, keeping them 
 constantly upon the road between Horton and Manchester, the 
 time occupied in going and returning being three days. Consi- 
 dering the bad condition of the roads at that period, which 
 were at some portions of the year almost impassable, it may well 
 be imagined that the difficulties of transit operated materially 
 against the prosperity of this particular branch of industry.
 
 30 Rambles Round Horton. 
 
 From an old directory we learn that the following calico 
 manufacturers from Horton attended Manchester market at 
 the beginning of the present century, namely, Richard Bolton, 
 Abraham Haley, John Knight & Co., George Norton, James 
 Tetley, Edward Peel, and Thomas Wardman. All these 
 persons apparently resided in the upper portion of the town- 
 ship : Richard Bolton in Low Green, where he kept scores of 
 persons weaving for him ; Abm. Haley in Paternoster Fold ; 
 Jas. Tetley (another large manufacturer) in Southfield Lane ; 
 Edward Peel, also of Southfield Lane, where he owned a large 
 number of cottages tenanted by calico weavers ; and Thos. 
 Wardman, in Cross Lane. The firm of Knight & Co. we shall 
 have to refer to subsequently. The Trafalgar coach passed 
 through Great Horton daily on its way to Manchester and 
 Liverpool, but it was either not considered trustworthy enough 
 for some of the Horton manufacturers, or for some other 
 reason not explained, they commenced a conveyance of their 
 own, which ran to Manchester, and was known as the " Calico 
 coach." 
 
 The above-named, however, were not the only persons 
 engaged in the cotton manufacture in Horton, there being in 
 addition others resident at Little Horton, some of whom were 
 in an extensive way of business, such as Benjamin Kaye, of 
 Horton Green, who, after his removal to Allerton Hall, was 
 succeeded by his nephew, Abraham Balme ; and in the same 
 locality were James Swaine, John Riley, and others. 
 
 The Knights, to whom reference has been made, were of 
 especial prominence in the commercial world of Horton. 
 John Knight was for years regarded as one of the " kings of 
 Horton," his will being generally considered law. About the 
 year 1806 John Knight, in company with his brother 
 Benjamin, erected a cotton factory, the site of which is 
 occupied by the present worsted spinning mill of Messrs. J. J. 
 Broadbent & Co. It was only a small erection, however, as 
 compared with that which at present exists upon the site, but 
 it served to find employment for a considerable number of 
 "hands," who toiled during the long hours previously stated 
 at very low wages. John Knight erected a good house 
 adjoining the mill, his brother Benjamin purchasing in the
 
 Rajublcs Round Hortoit. 31 
 
 year 1S21 the old mansion now standing opposite Broadbent's 
 mill, from Gorton's trustees, for the sum of ^^2500, the 
 purchase including West Croft adjoining. Of this amount, 
 however, he would appear to liavc mortaged the property for 
 iJ"2000. 
 
 Up to this period the firm of John Knight & Co. were in 
 a prosperous condition in public estimation, and so continued 
 until the year 1826, when, consequent upon the failure of 
 Messrs. Wentworth, Chaloner & Co., the Wakefield banking 
 firm, and the commercial disasters which shook' the credit of 
 scores of firms in this neighbourhood, Messrs. John and 
 Benjamin Knight succumbed, and with their downfall the 
 calico trade of Horton sustained a serious blow. Their 
 estate was taken possession of by the Commissioners in 
 Bankruptcy, and in great measure passed into the hands of 
 Messrs. Harris & Co., bankers, of Bradford, the principal 
 creditors, who rebuilt the mill and adapted it for a worsted 
 factory. 
 
 The cotton trade, however, was destined to sustain an 
 even greater shock than this, by the failure of the firm of 
 Messrs. Butterworth & Brooke, of Manchester, about the 
 year 1845. The consternation which followed upon this 
 event, when the news reached Horton by coach, was very great, 
 as many cotton piece makers in the township were pecuniarily 
 involved in the affairs of the firm, the extent of whose collapse 
 may be judged from the fact that a dividend of only 8^d. in 
 the pound was subsequently realised. Even at this low rate 
 a combined dividend amounting to ;^6ooo was paid over 
 to Horton manufacturers as their share of the wreck. The 
 effect, however, was disastrous, scores of little masters who 
 were doing business with the bankrupt firm being more or less 
 crippled in their resources, some of whom were only able to 
 tide over their difliculties by the help received from Mr. 
 Bridges, of Horton Old Hall. The cotton trade, however, 
 finally collapsed in Horton in the presence of its more 
 vigorous rival, the worsted industry, to which reference may 
 now be made. 
 
 With regard to this feature of the subject our remarks 
 may be prefaced by the following list of worsted manufacturers
 
 32 
 
 Rambles Round Hortoii. 
 
 of Great and Little Horton who attended the Bradford Piece 
 Hall in the year 1821, viz. : — 
 
 Bakes, William 
 Bakes, William 
 Barstow, Abraham 
 Bentley, Joseph 
 Bentley, Joseph 
 Bentley, Nathan 
 Binns, John 
 Birtwistle, William 
 
 Hardaker, John 
 H indie, Joseph 
 Holder, John, sen. 
 Holder, John, jun. 
 
 Parker, Andrew 
 Peel, Thomas 
 Robertshaw, Jeremiah 
 Shackleton, Robert 
 
 Holdsworth, Jeremiah Sharp, Daniel 
 
 Holdsworth, John 
 Holdsworth, John 
 Holdsworth, Jonas 
 
 Blakeborough, Richard Hudson, John 
 
 Blaymires, Joseph 
 Booth, Joseph 
 Clough, Isaac 
 Denton, Samuel 
 Emsley, John 
 Emsley, Thomas 
 Fox, Samuel 
 
 Smith, W. and E. 
 Swain, Joseph 
 Tordoff, Squire 
 Whitaker, John 
 Whitaker, Timothy 
 Wilkinson, David 
 Wood, Joseph 
 Wooller, Samuel 
 Wright, Jonas 
 Wright, George 
 Wright, William 
 
 Jennings, John 
 Keighley, Abraham 
 Keighley, James 
 Mitchell, Thomas 
 Murgatroyd, William 
 Parker, Abraham 
 Parker, John 
 Greenhough, Benjamin Parker, Samuel 
 
 Several of the above persons had been previously engaged in 
 the cotton trade, but had turned their energies in the direction 
 of worsted. The list is not complete, however, as it omits 
 mention of other and larger manufacturers whose places of 
 business were in Horton, such as the firm of Messrs. John 
 Rand & Sons. Rand's mill was one of the earliest worsted 
 manufacturing works in the township, but the interest 
 attaching to it and the families connected with it call for a 
 more extended notice than can be given in the present article. 
 In order of seniority the mill at Bank Top, now the 
 property of Mr. T. Priestley ; and Mitchell's Mill, Manchester 
 Road, come next, both having been erected in the year 18 17. 
 l^ank Top, or Mirypond Mill, as it was formerly named, was 
 erected by Mr. Ellis Cunliffe Lister, whose family owned con- 
 siderable property in Horton at that period. The first occupant 
 was Mr. Thomas Ackroyd, son of old Francis Ackroyd, who 
 brought up a numerous and influential family of sons, most 
 of whom were manufacturers, namely : — Joseph, Thomas, 
 William, Francis, Cowling, and Robert Stables. Thomas 
 Ackroyd left Bank Top Mill nearly half a century ago, and 
 removed to Birkenshaw, where he established the business 
 afterwards carried on by his sons, as spinners and manu-
 
 Rambles Round Horton. 3J5 
 
 facturcrs, colliery proprietors, and timber merchants. William 
 went to Otley, where he founded the extensive business firm 
 of Messrs. Wm. Ackroyd & Co. ; Cowling succeeded John 
 Knight & Co., at Great Horton ; and Robert -Stables Ackroyd 
 built Fieldhead Mills, afterwards occupied by Messrs. A. 
 Tremel & Co., a^d since owned and occupied by Messrs, John 
 Smith & Sons, the firm now represented by the Mayor of 
 Bradford, Alderman Isaac Smith. 
 
 The original portion of the extensive pile now owned 
 and occupied by Messrs. Mitchell Bros, was erected by Mr. 
 Richard Smith, and was formerly well known as " Dick 
 Smith Mill." It was occupied by the owner as a worsted- 
 spinning mill until it was taken for the same business by 
 Messrs. Turner & Mitchell. The parties to this firm were 
 George Turner and Thomas Mitchell, father of Messrs. 
 Abraham and Joseph Mitchell, who have subsequently so 
 largely extended the premises. Messrs. George, John, and 
 Robert Turner afterwards went into business at Holme Top 
 Mill and Beckside Mill, John and George subsequently 
 settling at the latter place. John Turner died in i860, leaving 
 George in business, and he was joined by Mr. S. Ackroyd, in 
 the firm of George Turner & Co. 
 
 What is still known as " Marshall's Mill," in Manchester 
 Road, was erected in the year 1818, having been built by Mr. 
 James Marshall for his two sons, Joseph and John. Mr. 
 Marshall was an ironmonger opposite the Old Manor Hall in 
 Kirkgate, and was a man of some enterprise, he having, in 
 company with Mr. Henry Leah, some time previously 
 purchased the Bierlcy Ironworks. Marshall's Mill was 
 unfortunately burnt down in 1822, and the worsted business 
 carried on in it collapsed some time after its re-erection 
 from the effects of the commercial disaster which told upon 
 the owners and occupiers. Messrs. Joshua Wood & Co. were 
 subsequently tenants of the premises, and Messrs. B. Berry and 
 Co. Some years ago the property was sold to Messrs. Geo. 
 Brown and John Sowden. 
 
 In the year 18 19 Mr. E. C. Lister erected for Messrs. 
 Francis & John Mitchell Old Bowling Lane Mill, in Horton 
 township. 
 C
 
 34 Rambles Round Horfon. 
 
 Two worsted mills were built in Horton township during 
 the year 1820, namely, Cliffe Mill, Great Horton, and a mill 
 in Nelson Street. The latter was erected by Mr. James 
 Duckitt, and was first occupied by Messrs, Aked & Co. and 
 Messrs. Chapman & Co. It has latterly been owned and 
 used for woolcombing by Messrs. M. Todd & Sons. The 
 premises have, however, been recently acquired by the 
 Corporation for the purposes of street improvement. Cliffe 
 Mill, on the other hand, has been wonderfully extended, and 
 is at present one of the chief sources of employment for the 
 factory workers of Great Horton. Cliffe Mill was built by 
 Joseph Beanland, corn miller and colliery proprietor, of 
 Shuttleworth Hall, and was run by his sons-in-law, Samuel 
 Helliwell, Joseph Wilkinson, and Edward Knight. It was 
 afterwards occupied conjointly by Mr. Cowling Ackroyd and 
 his brother, Robert S. Ackroyd, also by John Bartle and 
 Samuel Field ; and Messrs. Henry and George Mason 
 commenced business there, being succeeded by Messrs. John 
 Priestman & Sons. The premises are now owned and 
 occupied by Messrs. Wm. Ramsden & Co., of whose extensive 
 works the old Cliffe Mill forms a very inconsiderable portion. 
 Joseph Beanland also built the original portion of Beckside 
 Mill for the purposes of corn-milling, the premises, however, 
 being subsequently purchased by Samuel Dracup, and adapted 
 for a worsted factory. The premises were occupied until 
 recently by the firm of Messrs. George Turner & Co., and 
 now by Messrs. Benn & Sons, spinners and manufacturers. 
 Samuel Dracup's trustees are still the owners of the property. 
 Mr. Dracup also built a mill in Cliffe Lane, the first tenant of 
 which was Mr. John Bartle. Messrs. W. Bunting & Co. were 
 subsequently tenants, and on the retirement of Mr. Bunting 
 his partner, the late Mr. Henry Snowdcn, took the business. 
 
 Cross Lane Mill comes before the two last-named in order 
 of erection, the original structure having been commenced 
 in 1 821 by Mr. EH Suddards. Mr. Suddards came from 
 Todmordcn as a corn dealer, and carried on that business in 
 an old house at Low Green. He, however, did not complete 
 the erection of the mill in Cross Lane, which was completed 
 by Mr. James Couscn, who commenced running it as a
 
 Rambles Roitiid Horfon. 35 
 
 spinning mill under the name of James Cousen & Son. Mr. 
 VVm. Cousen, the son, afterwards succeeded to the business. 
 The adjoining shed was erected by Mr, Moses Topham and 
 run by him in 1867. The entire premises are now owned 
 by Messrs. John Rand & Sons, and occupied by the firm. 
 
 In 1826 Cannan Mill was built by Mr. Samuel Cannan, 
 who farmed Tommy Barraclough's land at Primrose Hill, and 
 sent out " travelling Scotchmen." The old mill, known as 
 Sammy Cannan Mill, was occupied by several tenants, among 
 others by Mr. George Oxley, afterwards Willett & Oxley, 
 merchants ; Mr. Wm. Foster, of Oueensbury ; Mr. John 
 Buckle ; Mr. John Smith, afterwards of Fieldhead Mills ; 
 Mr. Thos. Myers, and others. An alarming accident happened 
 in connection with Cannan Mill on the 6th of January, 1839, 
 when the chimney suddenly fell, cutting the mill into halves. 
 The new mill was built by Mr. Charles Tetley, and called 
 by the owner Cann(?n Mill. It had been completed some 
 time when Mr. John Ashley, spinner, &c., became the 
 first tenant in the year 1854. He had been bookkeeper 
 and cashier with the firm of Messrs. John Smith & Sons. 
 Some time after Messrs. Whitaker & Booker, spinners and 
 manufacturers, became tenants also. In the year 1874 
 Mr. Ashley from various causes was obliged to suspend 
 payment, an arrangement being made to pa}' the creditors 
 17s. 6d. in the pound, with guarantee. Twelve months after, 
 each creditor received a sum equal to 20s. in the £ with 
 interest, thus furnishing another instance of commercial 
 integrity which it is a pleasure to record. In admiration of 
 his upright conduct a handsome service of plate was shortly 
 afterwards presented to Mr. Ashley by Mr. Richard Fawcett, 
 on behalf of a few friends, and on the same occasion a gold 
 snuff box was presented to Mr. Samuel Ackroyd, of Great 
 Horton, in recognition of his judicious management of Mr. 
 Ashley's affairs during his temporary embarrassment. Mr. 
 Ashley now lives in retirement in Summerseat Place. 
 
 Mr. Chas. Tetley, the builder of the new portion of 
 Cannon Mill, was of the firm of Rennie, Tetley & Co., and 
 was sometimes called by his friends Pump Tetley, from the 
 fact that he was the inventor of the centrifugal pump. Mr.
 
 36 Rambles Round Horfon, 
 
 Tetley was a ver}' clever man, but short of some of the 
 qualities which go to make a successful man of business. He 
 was for many years manager of the Laxey Mine in the Isle of 
 Man, where he died a few years ago. The premises are now 
 owned by Mr. George Rennie Tetley, of Bingley, son of the 
 late Mr. G. G. Tetley. 
 
 In the year 1827 the mill at Great Horton erected by 
 John Knight for a cotton mill was converted into a worsted 
 mill by Messrs. Harris & Co. for Mr. Cowling Ackroyd, who 
 commenced life in partnership with his brother Robert 
 Stables Ackroyd at " Cowling Mill," as it was termed. 
 When Mr. R. S. Ackroyd went to Fieldhead, his brother 
 Cowling remained at Horton, and for a long period was 
 intimately identified with its interests. He retired from 
 business, however, and the mill stood empty for a time. 
 Messrs. Harris pulled down the old mill and built the 
 present one, \\hen Messrs. J. J. Broadbent & Co., who had 
 been at Atlas Mills, Bradford, came to it in 1861, and 
 purchased the property, since which period the works have 
 been much extended. 
 
 Brief reference can only be made to subsequent erections, 
 among which may be named Northsidc Mill, Legrams, built 
 by Mr. Nathan Bentley, and occupied by him and his sons, 
 Edwin, William, Bakes, Nathan, and Henr}', afterwards 
 purchased by Mr. Simeon Townend, and now owned by Mr. 
 Alfred Illingworth, M.P. Bentley's Mill suffered from a 
 disastrous fire on November 25, 1852, when it was almost 
 burned to the ground. 
 
 Stowell's Mill at Holme Top was erected in the year 
 1835 by Messrs. John and Squire Stowell. It was occupied at 
 one time by Messrs. George, John and Robert Turner, and 
 afterwards purchased and extended by Messrs. Michael and 
 Samuel Smith, who occupied a portion of the premises. 
 
 Britannia Mills, Manchester Road, erected by Messrs. 
 Christopher and Edward Waud in 1836, were at the time of 
 their erection the largest spinning mills in the Bradford district, 
 and so persuaded were some persons that the worsted trade 
 did not justify so large an outlay that the erection of these 
 mills was looked upon as an extravagant piece of folly!
 
 Rambles Round lloi'ton. 37 
 
 Albion Mill, Manchester Road, was erected by the late 
 Mr. Thomas Dewhirst, previously with Messrs. Pearson and 
 Whitehead, of Laisterdyke, upon the ground first purchased 
 after the opening up of the Skinhousc estate in 1850. 
 
 Shearbridge Mills, erected by Mr. Thomas Firth in 
 1850, are now the property of the late Mr. Wm. Dewhirst'.s 
 executors. This property also suffered seriously from fire, 
 the premises having been burned to the ground on July 10, 
 1866. They were, however, rebuilt quickly, five feet wider 
 than originally planned. 
 
 Among those who deserve especial mention in connection 
 with the manufacturing interests of Horton and the neighbour- 
 hood are the Dracup family. Sammy Dracup, whose family 
 was originally from Idle, was a most ingenious and persevering 
 man. His family acquired a considerable reputation as 
 shuttlemakers and makers of harness, also in rendering the 
 jacquard engine applicable to the worsted business, Mr. 
 Uracup commenced making these engines in 1838. When 
 first introduced into Horton they could only be worked by 
 hand. It is stated that Mr. Thomas Ackroyd, of Horton 
 Bank Top, set the first jacquard engine to work by power 
 in the neighbourhood of Bradford. In connection with this 
 subject it is worthy of note that Mr. S. Dracup also made 
 the first card-cutting machine in the year 1833, and in the 
 succeeding year he produced his repeater, a kind of stereotype 
 for designs. The family acquired considerable property in 
 Horton, which they still hold.
 
 38 Rambles Round H or ton. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Pioneers of the Worsted Industry — Tiie Rands^The Ramsbothams — The Swaiiies. 
 
 Referring in a previous article to the commercial 
 interests of Horton we reserved v/hat it might be desirable 
 to place on record with regard to several important families 
 which were largely identified with the township of Horton 
 and the interests of the worsted trade generally. Among the 
 number the Rands, the Ramsbothams, and the Swaines call 
 for especial notice, as being pioneers in that important 
 industry. Although many beside them had long been 
 engaged in the making of worsted stuffs, it was reserved to 
 members of the above families to concentrate the industry 
 within the walls of a worsted factory. 
 
 The first erection of this character is attributed to Mr. 
 Henry Ramsbotham, with whom were associated Mn Swaine 
 and Mr. Nathaniel Murgatroyd. The mill was situate in the 
 Holme, and v/as adjacent to the beck-course dividing the 
 townships of Horton and Bradford. This was in the year 
 1798. A second mill was erected in 1801 by Mr. Benj. Peile 
 for his nephews, Benjamin and Matthew Thompson, and in 
 1803 one was built in Horton Lane by Mr. John Rand. It 
 would appear, hov/ever, that the force of circumstances 
 impelled some of the persons named to a course of action 
 which they had resolutely opposed in others. In James's 
 History of Bradford there is given a curious document, 
 showing that an enterprising gentleman named Buckley, 
 residing in Bradford, formed in 1793 the design of erecting 
 a factory to be worked by a steam engine, a site for which 
 had been purchased in a field near the bottom of Manchester 
 Road, known as the Brick Kiln Field. So opposed were the 
 residents of the locality to the erection of a smoking factory 
 chimney, however, that a number of inhabitants signed a 
 document threatening Mr. Buckley with an action at law 
 if he persevered in his design, and that gentleman, seeing 
 the array of influential names agaftist him, quietly gave up
 
 RaiJibles Round Hart on. 39 
 
 the project, and withdrew to the Todmordcn valley. The 
 signatures attached to this threatening missive were as 
 follows : — Toms. Atkinson, Nathl. Aked, John Smith, Isaac 
 Willson, Thos. Holdgate, Jonas Bower, John Rand, Wm. 
 Whitaker, Jno. Hardy, Henry W. Oates, Mary Laidman, 
 Betty Swaine, Frs. Town, J. Lupton, and John Aked. 
 
 It is somewhat significant that several of the signatories 
 took a leading part in later years in promoting the erection 
 of objectionable mill chimneys, among them being Mr. John 
 Rand. Betty Swaine was Mr. Rand's mother-in-law, and 
 Mary Laidman was Mrs. Swaine's sister. The Rev. Dr. 
 Laidman, husband of Mary Laidman, was vicar of Calverley, 
 and it is worth notice in passing that that position was in 
 later times held successively by the Rev. Saml. Redhead, who 
 married Mary, eldest daughter of John Rand (grandniece of 
 Mrs. Laidman), and the Rev. Alfred Brov/n, who married 
 Jane, third daughter of Samuel and Mary Redhead. Thomas 
 Atkinson was a woolstapler in Tyrrel Street, and was the 
 employer of John Rand. John and Nathaniel Aked were 
 members of a family which resided in a low old-fashioned 
 house where the New Inn now stands — a family long identified 
 with the wool trade. John Hardy, the grandfather of the 
 present Lord Cranbrook, lived in the good house opposite 
 Mr. Rand's ; Wm. Whitaker was the principal partner in the 
 Old Brewery near at hand ; and Henry W. Oates was also a 
 member of the firm. Isaac Willson, the clerk of the Court of 
 Requests, resided at the house at the corner of " Bowling 
 Lane," afterwards occupied by Mrs. Bacon. Jonas Bower 
 belonged to the respectable family of that name in Chapel 
 Lane ; and Thos. Holdgate was the minister at Horton Lane 
 Chapel. 
 
 It will be seen therefore that the " protest " was 
 extensively signed by the gentry of the Town IukI, as 
 that portion of Bradford was called, and remembering the 
 salubrious character of the locality at that time, it is scarcely 
 to be wondered at that they should have taken alarm at 
 the threatened pollution by smoke of the neighbourhood. 
 However, as history proves, some of the protestors soon 
 changed their views, and not only entered heartily into the
 
 40 Rambles Round Horton. 
 
 initiatory stages of development through which the worsted 
 industry necessarily passed, but left representatives who in 
 an eminent degree deserve the gratitude of the present 
 generation for the enterprising spirit in which they promoted 
 that industry in subsequent but not less critical stages. 
 
 In this category rank the Rand family. The Rands 
 sprang from Norwich, the father of John Rand, the elder, 
 being named Hewett Rand, who was a merchant of that city. 
 Through his mother's line John Rand was descended from 
 the Columbines, a Huguenot family, who, after the revocation 
 of the Edict of Nantes, settled in Norwich. That city was 
 towards the close of last century and during the earlier 
 portion of the present one, celebrated for the manufacture of 
 a class of worsted goods akin to those produced in Bradford, 
 and probably arising out of this circumstance Hewett Rand 
 apprenticed his son John with Mr. Thomas Atkinson, of 
 Tyrrel Street (one of the signatories of the famous Buckley 
 " protest "), and with whom John learned his business so far 
 as a knowledge of the wool trade was concerned. 
 
 In March, 1785, John Rand married Mary, the only child 
 of Samuel and Betty Swaine, Mr. Swaine afterwards entering 
 into partnership with Mr. John Rand in the worsted trade. 
 Samuel Swaine formerly lived in a homestead in Legrams, 
 nearly opposite to Horton Grange, but afterwards built and 
 resided in the house in Horton Lane adjacent to which 
 Rand's Mill was built, and he owned the land required for 
 that erection. On Mr. Rand's marriage with their daughter, 
 Mr. and Mrs. Swaine gave up this house to Mr. Rand, who 
 resided there until his death in 1835, at the age of seventy-six 
 years. 
 
 The picture of this veteran stuffmaker, with his powdered 
 queue, knee breeches, black silk stockings, and buckled shoes, 
 is yet in the remembrance of " old inhabitants," and it may 
 be recorded that he was the last man in Bradford who held to 
 the above costume. His wife died in 1837, aged seventy- 
 seven years. Their family comprised three sons, viz., Samuel, 
 who died in 1808, aged twenty-two years ; John, and William; 
 also four daughters : — Mary, who married the Rev. Samuel 
 Redhead, vicar of Calverley ; Sarah, who married the Rev.
 
 Rambles Round Horton. 41 
 
 Henry Ives liailey, incumbent of Drighlington ; Elizabeth, 
 who died young, unmarried ; and Annie, who married George 
 Dodsworth, Esq., of Wheldrake, near York. 
 
 To the memory of John and WilHam Rand, the 
 surviving sons of John Rand the elder, ample justice can 
 scarcely be done in sketches of the character we propose. 
 Of both of the first-named gentlemen it may be said that 
 they assisted in the development of the worsted industry 
 from its most primitive stage until it reached a position of 
 assured stability — they were, in fact, connecting links between 
 the generation which inhabited Bradford w^hen it was a mere 
 village and that which has made it one of the most influential 
 towns in the kingdom. There are but few in Bradford who 
 remember the " Bishop Blaize " celebrations of sixty years 
 ago, but those who do can tell with what a lusty voice John 
 Rand pronounced the famous " speech " beginning " Hail to 
 the day," &c., which, doggerel though it be, was deemed by 
 our ancestors the laureate-poem of Yorkshire. But Mr. John 
 Rand was more than a tradesman, and his name will long be 
 associated with the various religious, social, and philanthropic 
 movements of his time. Mr. Rand married a sister of the 
 late Dr. Macturk, but left no issue. His death occurred in 
 June, 1873, in the eightieth year of his age. A tablet has 
 been erected in Bradford Parish Church by his widow, who 
 died during the year 1884. 
 
 William Rand was born in 1796, and, in conjunction 
 with his brother, devoted much time to the development of 
 the worsted business. In public matters his name stands 
 connected with the Waterworks Company, of which he was 
 chairman until it was bought up by the Corporation. Over 
 the latter body he was elected to preside as Mayor in the 
 year 1 850-1, having been an alderman of the borough since 
 its incorporation in 1847. ^^^ many years Mr. Rand lived at 
 the family house in Horton Lane, but subsequently removed 
 to Baildon, w^iere he died in December, 1868, aged seventy- 
 two years. He was never married. 
 
 It may be stated that the original mill erected by John 
 Rand was adapted for the spinning of cotton as well as of 
 worsted, and is still standing parallel with Horton Lane.
 
 42 Rambles Round Horton. 
 
 That portion of the premises adjoining the burial ground of 
 Horton Lane Chapel was erected many years afterwards 
 upon the site of the mill-dam, and subsequently the premises 
 have been much extended in the direction of Great Horton 
 Road. 
 
 The history of Swaine and Ramsbotham's Mill in the 
 Holme is interesting on account of its being the first erection 
 of the kind in Bradford. Although it is just outside the 
 Horton boundary, it may be noticed in these papers by reason 
 of its associations, and its initiation by men who were intimately 
 connected with Horton. From the fields in which it was 
 situate being from " time immemorial " called the Holmes, it 
 may be inferred that they formed a dry spot in a swampy 
 place, or possibly at one period an island may have been 
 formed by the divergence of the streams from Horton and 
 Thornton. It was in these meadows that the famous Bishop 
 Blaize demonstrations were marshalled before proceeding 
 round the town. The road to the Holme, and subsequently 
 to Holme Mill, was by way of Brewery Lane, and across the 
 beck at the bottom. There was also a nice plantation of 
 wood at that time upon the slopes of the hill upon which 
 Westbrook House (now the Alexandra Hotel) stands. 
 
 After the erection of Holme Mill by Mr. Henry Rams- 
 botham, he was joined in partnership by one of the Swaines. 
 Mr. Nathaniel Murgatroyd, a cotton manufacturer and father 
 of the late Mr. Wm. Murgatroyd, having some interest in it. 
 The leading spirit, however, was Mr. Ramsbotham, who, it 
 is said, had prior to 1798 turned a quantity of spinning 
 machinery in his premises near the site of the Bradford 
 Banking Company's bank by means of a horse-gin, a course 
 adopted by several other manufacturers. It would appear, 
 too, that Mr. Ramsbotham was an authority in trade matters 
 generally, as we are told that he and the late Edward Pease, 
 of Darlington, met every three months at the Golden Lion in 
 Leeds, or at the Star and Garter at Kirkstall, to arrange 
 the list of prices to be charged for worsted yarns during 
 the ensuing quarter ! How delighted would any two or 
 three spinners of the present day be to possess such a 
 privilege 1
 
 Rambles Round Hoy ton. 43 
 
 After the Holme Mill had been erected about four years 
 a serious fire occurred, and almost destroyed the edifice. On 
 that occasion the corps of the Bradford Volunteers, captained 
 by My. Samuel Hailstone, had an opportunity of distinguishing 
 themselves by putting out the flames. With this view we are 
 told they "saged" or severed the leaden pipe which supplied 
 the town's reservoir in Westgate, and thus obtained the 
 necessary fluid. That was in March, 1804. It is not at all 
 unlikely that the fire was the work of some malicious person 
 or combination of persons, inasmuch as it is upon record that 
 Mr. Ramsbotham had to encounter considerable opposition 
 during the erection of the mill. While the stones were being 
 conveyed for its erection a large number of inhabitants of the 
 town assembled to prevent their being deposited on the site, 
 and Mr. Ramsbotham had to strip and show fight before 
 the horse and cart was allowed to proceed ! The engine 
 supplying the propelling force was of 15-horse power. After 
 the disastrous fire the premises were rebuilt and enlarged by 
 the original partners, but were shortly afterwards purchased 
 by Mr. Richard Fawcett, who at the time was also erecting 
 a mill in Union Street, and in both places he carried on a 
 successful business for some years. Holme Mill again 
 suffered from conflagration in 1868, and since that period 
 the premises have been occupied as machine works by 
 Messrs. Sowden & Stephenson. 
 
 The Ramsbothams originally came from I.ancashire. A 
 member of this family settled in Halifax some time about 
 the year 1730, as an oil merchant, and his son Robert 
 Ramsbotham very early in life came to Bradford, and married 
 EHza, a daughter of William Swaine, of Legrams, brother 
 to Samuel Swaine, the father of Mrs. John Rand, who 
 also lived in Legrams. Robert Ramsbotham died in 1796, 
 leaving three children, viz., Henry (of whom mention has 
 been made in connection with Holme Mill) ; William, who 
 died without i.ssue ; and Elizabeth, who married Dr. Mossman, 
 of Bradford, and had children : George Robert, solicitor, 
 father of Mr. G. R. Mossman, of Crow Trees, and clerk to 
 the West Riding and borough justices ; and Margaret, who 
 married Wm. Taylor, Esq., of Hunsworth. it will be seen.
 
 44 Rambles Round H or ton. 
 
 therefore, that the connection between the Rands and the 
 Ramsbothams came through the Swaines. 
 
 Henry Ramsbotham married Ann Elizabeth, daughter 
 of Thomas Shepley, Esq., of Tadcaster. He died in 1810, 
 and his widow afterwards married Dr. Mossman. Henry 
 Ramsbotham had two sons, Henry Robert and John Hodgson. 
 Robert, after being in partnership with the Rands for many 
 years, founded the firm of Messrs. H. R. Ramsbotham & Co., 
 and lived at Allerton Hall, afterwards removing to Finchley, 
 where he died, unmarried, in 1880. John, the second son, 
 was apprenticed with Mr. Blakey, surgeon, of Bradford, and 
 practiced as a medical man for a time in London and 
 afterwards in his native town. Being compelled by ill-health 
 to retire from the active pursuit of his profession, he accepted 
 in 1838 the stewardship of the Thornhill estates at Fixby and 
 Calverley. In 1845, having had his attention drawn to the 
 method of treatment put forth by Hahnemann, then a novelty 
 in this country, he gradually resumed practice, and by his 
 enthusiasm as one of the pioneers of homoeopathy in the 
 north of England, made many converts to the new doctrine 
 among his professional friends. He was well known as a 
 successful practitioner, first in Huddersfield and then in 
 Leeds, where he died in 1868. He married Mary, eldest 
 daughter of the Rev. Samuel Redhead. Of his sons, two 
 have become connected with the Bradford trade, viz., Robert 
 Redhead, who was in partnership with Mr. Wm. Firth as a 
 worsted spinner, and died in i'&'j'^, and John Rand, who is 
 associated with his cousin Frederick Mossman in carrying 
 on the business of H. R. Ramsbotham & Co. His eldest son, 
 Samuel Henry, succeeded him in practice at Leeds, and 
 his youngest son, Francis Shepley, is an assistant master 
 at Charterhouse School, Godalming. His daughter, Mary 
 lilizabeth, married the Rev. Edward Kemble, formerly vicar 
 of Yeadon, now vicar of Coniston Cold, in Craven. 
 
 The Swaines are a very ancient family. By the will of 
 Miles Swayne, of Horton, dated 1515, he gave his body to be 
 buried in the church of St. Peter and St. Paul at Bradford, 
 and left 3s. 4d. for church work. He also mentioned Alice, 
 his wife, and made James and Christopher Swaine, his
 
 Rambles Round Hortou. 45 
 
 sons, his executors. In 1596 a Robert Swayne married 
 Elizabeth Sharp, of Horton, and numerous entries might 
 be given from documents before us showing a continuous 
 succession of Horton and Bradford Swaines to the close of 
 last century. That members of the family were considerable 
 landowners may be gathered from a perusal of the land tax 
 for Horton in 1704, of which Chris. Swaine and Thos. Swaine 
 were assessors, and in which occur the following names : — 
 Abm. Swaine, of Hew Clews ; Robert Swaine, Hunt Yard ; 
 Thos. Swaine, Chris. Swaine, and " Mr." Wm. Swaine. 
 
 The Swaine family had numerous branches, the various 
 lines of which it would be undesirable to trace except for 
 strictly antiquarian reasons. Following the more important 
 branches so far as their connection with Horton is concerned, 
 we append notes culled from family documents and the silent 
 testimony of the burial ground of Chapel Lane Chapel, where 
 many members of the family lie interred. 
 
 As we have seen, the Swaines were located in Horton 
 early in the sixteenth century, and probably before. The 
 family, however, have a clear descent from 1596, when Robert 
 Swayne married Elizabeth Sharp, one of the members of the 
 Horton family of that name. Their son, Thomas, married in 
 1633 Grace Pearson, and the eldest son of this marriage, 
 Samuel, married Susannah Feild, also of Horton. In 1701 
 Robert Swaine, a son of the above, married Sarah l^alme, of 
 Bowling. From this marriage sprang the several branches of 
 the family, who in various ways were largely identified with 
 the interests of the neighbourhood. Robert Swaine lived at 
 Newall Hall, and had three sons and two daughters, several 
 of whom were baptised in the Presbyterian Chapel, W'ibsey 
 Bankfoot, called Hill Top Chapel, where their grandf^Uher, 
 Samuel, was interred. This reference gives rise to the 
 interesting question where this place of religious worship, the 
 predecessor of the old Presbyterian Chapel in Chapel Lane, 
 was situate. This moot point, however, will receive attention 
 in a subsequent paper. 
 
 Robert Swaine subsequently resided in the house at the 
 entrance to Legrams Lane, afterwards occupied by Mr. Henry 
 Gates, and Mr. Robt S. Ackroyd. He was in partnership
 
 46 Rambles Round Horton. 
 
 with his sons, Samuel and WiHiam, as worsted stuff makers 
 in Legrams. Robert Swaine died in September, 1775, at the 
 age of eighty-four years, and he and his wife Sarah, who 
 also reached her eighty-fourth year, are interred in the 
 Presbyterian burial ground, Chapel Lane. Besides Samuel 
 and William he had an elder son, Joseph Swaine, born at 
 Newall Hall in 1703, and married to Bathshua Hesketh, 
 daughter of the Rev. Robert Hesketh, of Tinglcy, who traced 
 her descent from the Lords Eure, of Witton Castle, Durham, 
 and Stokesley Manor, Cleveland. Joseph Swaine for some 
 time resided at Lower Burnet Field, one of the residences 
 purchased by him, and he had also lands at Esholt and 
 Hawks worth. 
 
 Joseph Swaine appears to have been a man of some 
 business energy, and to have acquired considerable property. 
 In a cancelled will, dated 1770, he is described as of Horton, 
 woolcombcr, and after devising to Bathshua, his wife, and 
 Edward Hesketh, his brother-in-law, certain property, he 
 bequeathed his Hawksworth estate to his second son John, 
 of Burnet Field, stuff maker. In 1780 Joseph Swaine was 
 resident in the mansion at Great Horton now occupied by 
 Mr. John Denton, and was a merchant. He afterwards 
 farmed lands in Manningham, but again removed to a house 
 in Little Horton Lane, where he lived with his unmarried 
 daughter and son, John, then a widower. He died in 1787, 
 in the eighty-fifth year of his age, and with his wife, lies 
 in the burial ground in Chapel Lane. 
 
 Joseph Swaine's eldest son Robert married the daughter 
 of Mr. Nathaniel Priestley of Northowram, and lived for 
 some time at Cross Hill, Halifax, afterwards joining in 
 business with his brother John, and his nephews, Joseph 
 and Edward, at Gomersal Mills. He died in 18 12, without 
 issue. John, the second son of Joseph Swaine, was twice 
 married, first to Mary, daughter of Mr. Robert Fieldsend, 
 of Waddington, and secondly, to Ann, daughter of Mr. 
 John Greenwood, of Bridge House, Haworth. By his first 
 marriage he had a son, Joseph Swaine, born in the house in 
 Horton Lane, in 1781. He afterwards resided at Copley 
 Gate near Halifax, and then removed to Brier Hall,
 
 Rambles Rotiiid Horton. 47 
 
 Gomersal, where he, in partnership with his half-brother 
 Edward Swaine, who died at York, in January, 1885, in the 
 ninety-fifth year of his age, took a sixty years' lease of what 
 was then called the Gomersal Cloth Hall, from Sir Henry 
 Ibbetson. Joseph Swaine died at Brier Hall, in the year 
 1870, at the advanced age of eighty-nine years. His daughter. 
 Miss Caroline Frances Swaine, born in 1806, now lives at 
 Field Head, Gomersal. Her brother William Edward, of 
 Leeds, born in 1809, died while staying at Ilklcy in 1880^ 
 leaving as the head of the Swaine family in England Mr. 
 Henry Paget Swaine, of Brabccuf Manor, Guildford, Surrey. 
 The family bear arms — A maiden figure couped, proper, 
 crined or, between wings of gold. 
 
 Edward Swaine, the third son of Joseph Swaine, sen., 
 was the progenitor of the German branch of the family. He 
 lived in London for a time, but for many years resided in 
 Leipsic and Weimar, Germany, where he died in 1837, o^'^*" 
 eighty years of age. Of this stock several branches exist — 
 viz., that represented by Col. Leopold Victor Swaine, military 
 attache at Berlin and Lord Wolseley's military secretary in 
 the Egyptian campaign ; and Capt. Ernest Edward Swaine, 
 son of Dr. W. E. Swaine, formerly physician extraordinary to 
 H.R.H. the Duchess of Kent. Another branch is represented 
 by Freiherr Richard von Swaine, who married the Princess 
 Lowenstein Wertheim. 
 
 We have still to notice the brothers of Joseph Swaine, 
 sen., who died in 1787. They were, as stated, William and 
 Samuel Swaine, the former having a daughter Elizabeth 
 married to Mr. Robert Ramsbotham ; the latter, Samuel, 
 being the father of Mary Swaine, married to Mr. John 
 Rand, sen. Samuel died in 1787, aged seventy-four years; 
 and his wife Betty (who signed the " Buckley protest ") in 
 1793. William died in 1789, aged eighty-two years. He 
 had also a son, Samuel, who married his cousin, a daughter 
 of Jo.seph Swaine, sen., who died in 1841, having reached the 
 ninety-i^rst year of her age. All the above were engaged in 
 the Bradford worsted trade, and one of them was associated 
 with Mr. Ramsbotham in the erection of the Holme Mill. 
 Samuel, the father-in-law of John Rand, erected the good
 
 48 Rambles Round Horton. 
 
 house near Rand's Mill, which his daughter and Mr. Rand 
 occupied until their deaths. 
 
 The record of the Swaine family is remarkable for the 
 long ages attained by many of its members. Of the nine 
 persons above referred to, eight lived to over four-score years, 
 three of the number being over ninety years of age. The 
 Svvaines were undoubtedly the oldest Presbyterian family in 
 Bradford, several of its members having been upon the trust 
 since the foundation of the chapel in 1717, when Abraham 
 Swaine's name appears. Joseph Swaine, of Brier Hall, his 
 half-brother, Mr. Edward Swaine, of York, Mr. W. E. Swaine, 
 of Leeds, and his brother John, were all trustees, but now Mr. 
 Henry Paget Swaine, of Guildford, is the only representative. 
 When the foundation-stone of the new chapel was laid in 
 1868, the ceremony was performed by Mr. Edward Swaine. 
 
 Other members of this family were resident in Great 
 Horton, to whom subsequent reference may be made, and 
 there was also an influential branch more immediately 
 connected with Bradford. Dr. Swaine, who was connected 
 with this branch, and resided in Hall Ings, was an eminent 
 apothecary in Bradford in the first half of last century, 
 and was a great friend of Abraham Sharp, the Horton 
 mathematician. He was one of the {q.\v persons who were 
 admitted to the workshop of the recluse by the process of 
 rubbing a stone upon a certain place in the wall, but even he 
 had often to return disappointed, Sharp being either too 
 much absorbed to notice the signal or indisposed to see 
 company. Mr. Charles Swaine Booth Sharp, of Horton 
 Hall, succeeded to the property of this gentleman. In what 
 way the Horton Swaincs were connected with Dr. Swaine we 
 have not ascertained, but it is said that next to Mr. C. S. B. 
 .Sharp, Joseph .Swaine, of Brier Hall, was heir-at-law to the 
 property of the Bradford Swaines.
 
 Rambles Round II art on. 49 
 
 CHAPTICR V. 
 
 Chapel Lane— The Bower Family — I'resbyterianism in Horton — Horton Meeting- 
 house — Chapel Lane Unitarian Chapel — Former Ministers — Spring House, 
 Mrs. Bacon — Ebenezer Chapel — John Hardy — Samuel Hailstone — Edward 
 Hailstone, F'.S.A. 
 
 Having alluded to various features connected with the 
 township of Horton without reference to locality, we may 
 now take a ramble round the township, commencing with 
 that portion of it adjacent to Bradford " town-end." 
 
 A perusal of the map of Bradford will show nearly 
 the whole of Chapel Lane to be just within the township 
 boundary of Horton. Although now essentially in the heart 
 of Bradford, the residences which formerly lined Chapel Lane 
 were pleasantly situated, away from the centre of the town 
 and the bustle of the market place, which was situate in 
 Westgate. In the reference book to the township map of 
 1 80 1 we find mention of " Chapel Lane Gardens," and within 
 more recent times we have pleasing recollections of a grass- 
 covered lawn opposite the old Unitarian Chapel. 
 
 At the commencement of the present century the 
 principal residents of Chapel Lane were Miss Swaine, 
 Joshua Jennings, Geo. Dodgson, Wm. Goodchild, James 
 Pullan, Benjamin Key, and Miss Bower. The last-named 
 lady was also a large landowner in the neighbourhood. 
 
 The Bower family had been resident in Chapel Lane for 
 a long period, and ranked among the leading gentry of the 
 town. Jeremy Bower and Thomas Bower were important 
 tradesmen of Bradford in Queen Elizabeth's time, being put 
 down as " mercers." Thomas Bower also kept " Ye Swanne," 
 and carried on an extensive tanning business, besides that of 
 "hair-beard," or barber. It was probably this Bower who was 
 appointed to make out the return for Bradford in Barnard's 
 Survey of 1577. Simeon Bower was a " lawyear," a profession 
 followed by more recent members of the family. Jeremiah 
 Bower was postmaster of Bradford in the latter half of the 
 1)
 
 50 Rambles Round H or ton. 
 
 seventeenth century, and a Jeremy Bower kept the Talbot Inn 
 in Kirkgate in tlie year 1691. The Paper Hall in Barkerend, 
 and considerable property in Horton, once belonged to the 
 Bower family. For many years, however, the leading 
 representatives of the family have been removed from the 
 town. Mr. John Bower, who resided here in the early part of 
 the century, died at Middlethorpe, York, in 1843, at the age 
 of seventy years. His son, also named John, a barrister, and 
 the last of the family who lived in Bradford, died a few years 
 ago. Mr. Abraham Bower, another son, lived at an estate 
 purchased by him many years ago at Ripon, and died there, 
 at the age of eighty-one, during the year 1884. 
 
 In the early part of the century the gardens and orchard 
 attached to Townend House extended up Manchester Road 
 (or Bowling Lane) for some distance. There was also a toll- 
 bar at the bottom of the lane which effectually commanded 
 all the traffic entering the town from that direction. The 
 toll-house was on the Chapel Lane side, and was kept by 
 John Lee. It was afterwards occupied as a flour shop by 
 one Craven. The toll-bar, however, which had long been a 
 nuisance, was removed in 1826. 
 
 The principal object of historic interest in Chapel Lane 
 is undoubtedly the Unitarian Chapel. The date of its erection 
 was about the year 1718-19, it being at the time the only 
 dissenting place of worship in Bradford. The founders were 
 the old Nonconformists or Presbyterians. The history of 
 this section of Christians would take our thoughts back to 
 troublous times in the annals of the Christian Church, and if 
 space permitted, lead us to notice the two diverging tendencies 
 of the Puritan party in the seventeenth century, which at last 
 settled down into what were known a century later as Old 
 Dissent and New Dissent, Rational Dissenters and Orthodox 
 Dissenters, synonymous with the English Presbyterians or 
 Unitarians, and Independents or Congregationalists, of the 
 present day. Immediately after the Revolution of 1688 
 Presbyterianism first took root in Bradforddale, and a chapel 
 was built at Little Horton for the use of the Dissenters 
 of the neighbourhood, who were not only numerous but 
 comprised several influential adherents ; among these may
 
 Rambles Round H or ton. 51 
 
 be included some members of the Sharp family, also of the 
 Swaines, the Hodgsons, the Rollings, and others. In the list 
 of meeting-houses registered at Wakefield Sessions after the 
 passing of the Toleration Act in 1688 we find the following 
 entries : — 
 
 Under date January, i68g. — "That Thomas Sharp, of Little 
 Horton, nigh Bradford, clerk, doth make choice of his own house to 
 assemble in for rehgious worship." 
 
 January, 1691.— "The dweUing-house of John Smithies, of Little 
 Horton, recorded a place of religious meeting. Signed — ^^Samuel Swayne, 
 John Smithies, John Butterfield, Robert Parkinson." 
 
 January, 1695. — "The house of Thomas Ferrand, of Bradford, for 
 religious worship." 
 
 January, 1696. — "The house of Thomas Hodgson, of Bradford, 
 recorded." 
 
 The erection of a chapel for the use of those who from 
 conscientious motives dissented from the forms adopted in 
 the Church as by law established would doubtless be the 
 means of gathering together the various sections of devout 
 persons attending these meeting-houses, but it is not clear 
 where that chapel was situate. The site of it was either 
 given by or purchased from Thomas Sharp, of Horton Hall, 
 a man eminent for his theological attainments, and who, as 
 we have seen, had licensed his own house for religious 
 worship, whither, it is recorded, " numbers flocked to hear 
 him." In his will, dated 1693, Thomas Sharp bequeathed to 
 his daughter Elizabeth a close of land at Little Horton, called 
 Higher End, which is described as being " near the new 
 meeting-house." In Fawcett's " Life of Oliver Heywood," it 
 is said that " the people had previously (to the erection of 
 the Presbyterian Chapel at Bradford) worshipped at Little 
 Horton, and at a place not far from Wibsey." 
 
 The house usually pointed out as the site of the " new 
 meeting-house" is situate in Thornton Lane, and is still 
 known as Chapel House, while Chapel Fold and Chapel 
 Green are well-recognised names in the immediate vicinity. 
 
 Over the door are the initials \'^ \j\ \ the letters I and T 
 
 standing for Jeremiah Thornton, and M for the name of his 
 wife. The date, 1739, does not correspond with the period
 
 5-2 
 
 Rambles Round H or ton. 
 
 when the " new meeting-house " was erected, but might refer 
 to a time of rebuilding, as there are indications of portions of 
 the house being older than the period referred to. 
 
 The late John James discredited the claim of the 
 Thornton Lane residence, and stated that he had seen 
 references to Chapel Fold at Bradford long before, assuming 
 the site of the earlier edifice to be in Chapel Lane. To 
 still further complicate the subject, we have evidence that 
 members of the Swaine family, who were amongst the 
 earliest Presbyterians, were both baptised and buried at the 
 " Presbyterian Chapel, Wibsey Bankfoot, and called Hill Top 
 Chapel." Wherever this place of worship was situate, it was 
 undoubtedly the birthplace of Nonconformity in Bradford. 
 
 The Rev. Samuel Hulme was a resident of Little Horton 
 about the year 1700, and was minister of the Presbyterian 
 congregation. His son, Joseph Hulme, M.D., was born in 
 the village, and was educated for the ministry under Dr. 
 Philip Doddridge, but, changing his profession, he became a 
 skilful physician. He died in the ninety-second year of his 
 age. The Rev. Samuel Crowther, who died in 1706, and the 
 Rev. Eli Dawson succeeded Samuel Hulme at Little Horton. 
 In 1 7 16 the congregation was called Presbyterian, having 500 
 hearers, forty of them having county votes. 
 
 In the year 1719, however, the congregation removed to 
 the new chapel in Chapel Lane. The site of it is described in 
 the trust deed as " the north corner of Murgatroyd's Croft, in 
 Horton," and was given by Robert Stansfield, a drysalter, who 
 married a daughter of Thos. Sharp, and whose son Robert 
 afterwards purchased Esholt Hall. The dimensions of the 
 site were about thirty yards in length and thirty yards in 
 breadth, and it was bounded on the north by Back Lane, 
 then probably called Toad Lane, and now rejoicing in the 
 better-sounding name of Chapel Lane. On the west it was 
 bounded by land belonging to the daughters of Mr. John 
 Hollings, while to the east and south lay the rest of the croft. 
 
 The trustees were Abraham Sharp, of Little Horton ; 
 Samuel Stansfield, of Bradford, Salter ; Thomas Ferrand, 
 Bradford, grocer and mercer ; Abraham Rhodes, Bradford, 
 yeoman ; Jeremy Dixon, Heaton Royds, yeoman ; Abm.
 
 Ranibles Roiuid Norton. 53 
 
 Svvaine, Bradford, yeoman ; John Lister, Bolton, yeoman ; 
 Isaac Wilkinson, Little Horton, yeoman ; John Atkinson, 
 Bradford, butcher (?) ; Wm. Hod^^son, l^owling, yeoman ; 
 and James Aked, Bradford, yeoman, who are described as 
 being " Protestant Dissenters from the Church of England ; " 
 and the date of the conveyance is December 2nd, 17 19. 
 
 From a document printed in the Bradford A ntiqiuDj we 
 learn that many of the materials came from Howley Hall, 
 near Batley, built in 1590 by Sir John Savile, and dismantled 
 through the caprice of its subsequent owner, the Earl of 
 Cardigan, during the early part of the eighteenth century. 
 Among these items are the following : — 
 
 May 24, 1 7 19. / s. d. 
 
 Pd. for Hooley windows 3 o o 
 
 Pd. for 14 loads of ye same leading to Bradford, 
 
 at 5s. per load 3 10 o 
 
 Charges at Hooley when best ceiling was taken 
 
 down o 010 
 
 Paid for 6 pilasters at Hooley 090 
 
 Paid John Crocker for Hooley gates leading ...250 
 
 The woodwork and fittings were therefore old at the time 
 they were brought to Bradford. The total cost of the erection 
 was ;^340 3s. 5d. The old gateway, since its removal from 
 Chapel Lane, has been re-erected in the grounds of Mr. 
 Arthur Briggs, Cragg Royd, Rawdon. 
 
 The Rev. Eli Dawson continued his pastorate at the new- 
 chapel in Chapel Lane until 1728. He was followed in 173 1 
 by the Rev, Joshua Hardcastle, who continued until his death 
 in 1753, and was succeeded by the Rev. John Smith, of 
 Mixenden, a graduate of the Glasgow University, and a 
 relative of the Sharps. For a long time Mr. Smith con- 
 cluded his sermons with the Trinitarian Doxology, and to the 
 last attended the week-day services of the Church. He died 
 in 1768, and lies in Mixenden Chapel }'ard. 
 
 He was succeeded by the Rev. John Dean, who was 
 his son-in-law, and who ministered there from 1768 to 18 13. 
 Mr. Dean was treasurer to the Bradford Library when it was 
 formed in 1774, and w^as father-in-law to the late Mr. C. H. 
 Dawson, of Royds Hall. During Mr. Dean's ministry the 
 congregation became Lhiitarian.
 
 5-i 
 
 Rambles Round H or ton. 
 
 From 1813 to 18 17 the chapel had for its minister the 
 Rev. Henry Turner, whose name is yet fresh and honoured. 
 He left to occupy the important pulpit of the High Pavement, 
 Nottingham, where he succeeded Dr. Hutton, but died there 
 in 1822, in the thirtieth year of his age. 
 
 To him succeeded the Rev. Nicholas Heinekin, the son 
 of a Bremen merchant, and a Lutheran, who had come to 
 London and joined the ranks of the Old Dissent. He was 
 
 Old Gateway, Chapel Lane. 
 
 born in London, March 8th, 1763, and is still remembered 
 with respect and affection. He died suddenly in 1840. 
 
 The Rev. George Vance Smith, B.A., was the minister 
 from 1 841 to 1843, when he removed to Macclesfield, and after- 
 wards to Birmingham. The Rev. G. V. Smith subsequently 
 acquired the degree of doctor of divinity, and had the honour 
 of forming one of the body entrusted with the Revised 
 Version of the Scriptures.
 
 Rambles Round Norton. 55 
 
 From 1844 to 1864, the Rev. John Howard Ryland 
 ministered. Mr. Ryland was a gentleman of very active 
 habits, and took a prominent part in the work of the 
 Mechanics' Institute, of which he was president in 1858. 
 He was very generally respected in Bradford. 
 
 In 1845 the Dissenters' Chapels Bill encouraged the 
 congregation to make improvements in the old chapel. A 
 new vestry was built and new schools projected, which were 
 opened the following year. In 1846 also a fresh batch of 
 trustees was appointed, comprising C. H. Dawson, of Royds 
 Hall, his sons, C. H. Dawson, jun., Joseph Dawson, and John 
 Dawson ; Joseph Swaine, of Gomersal, cloth maker ; Edward 
 Swaine, Gomersal, cloth maker ; John Swaine, Gomersal, 
 cloth maker ; Wm. Ed. Swaine, Leeds, merchant ; Thomas 
 Ilollings, Manningham, gentleman ; Stephen Humble, Idle, 
 gentleman ; Alfred Bankart, Bradford, worsted spinner ; and 
 Charles Bankart, Bradford, woolstapler. Of this number 
 only Mr. John Dawson, living at Exmouth, remains upon 
 the trust. 
 
 Mr. Ryland retired in 1864, and was succeeded in that 
 year by the Rev. T. W. Freckelton. On the removal of Mr. 
 Freckelton in 1866 to Plymouth, the Rev. Richard Pilcher, 
 B.A., London, was chosen minister. Subsequent ministers 
 have been the Rev. W. J. Knapton, who afterwards joined the 
 Church of England ; the Rev. Robert Laird Collier, D.D., 
 and the Rev. J. Cuckson. 
 
 The chapel was endowed by Jeremy Dixon, one of the 
 old trustees, who, by his will, dated 22nd February, 1724, gave 
 a farm at Denholme, called Birchin Lee, to the trustees of the- 
 chapel. The income from this source now realises about 
 ^100 per annum. New schools were erected in 1867, and 
 in February, 1868, the corner-stone of the present hand- 
 some chapel was laid by Mr. Edward Swaine, of York, 
 whose family had been connected with the chapel from 
 its foundation. The style of the erection is Gothic, the 
 accommodation is for 500 worshippers, and the cost was 
 about ^5400. 
 
 At the corner of IManchester Road there was formerly a 
 garden gate admitting to the grounds of Spring House, at
 
 56 Rambles Roimd Horton. 
 
 one time the property of Isaac Willson, clerk of the Court of 
 Requests, This house was in danger of being sacked by an 
 exasperated mob in 1793, in consequence of the unpopularity 
 of Mr. Willson or of his office. More recently it was the 
 residence of Mr. W'm. Bacon, and subsequently of his widow, 
 a lady well known for her piety and benevolence. Her father 
 was Mr. John Balme, a worsted manufacturer. He built the 
 house subsequently occupied as a Baptist College at Horton. 
 Mr. Balme was a zealous Independent, and was one of the 
 parties to the original trust of Horton Lane Chapel, erected 
 in 1782. 
 
 Mr. Bacon, of Spring House, died in 1818 ; and Mary, 
 his widow, in 1853, aged eighty-three. By her will Mrs. 
 Bacon left ^1000 each to the following institutions : — the 
 Bible Society, the London Missionary Society, and the Home 
 Missionary Society, and a sum of i," 12,000, the proceeds of 
 which were to be devoted to the relief of aged and infirm 
 ministers, their widows and daughters. Her sister, Miss 
 Sarah Balme, was equally benevolent in disposition, and in 
 accordance with her request, valuable property at Undercliffe 
 and Fagley was conveyed to the trustees of Airedale College 
 (then at Idle), and upon a portion of which a college was 
 afterwards built. 
 
 Another daughter of John Balme was married to Samuel 
 Broadley, who lived in the house in Kirkgate upon the site 
 of which the Bradford Banking Company's premises were 
 erected. She died in 1825, bequeathing large sums for charit- 
 able purposes, including ^^^5000 to Horton Baptist College. 
 
 Directly opposite to Mrs. Bacon's house was situate the 
 Bowling Alley, to which in times past the well-to-do people of 
 the "town-end" resorted for a bout at bowls. A portion of this 
 ground was acquired about the year 1836 for the erection of 
 the Ebenezer Chapel, which stood upon the boundary line 
 dividing Horton from Bradford. The movement for the 
 erection of this place of worship originated with Mr. Wm. 
 Grandage, of Brownroyd, who, having been connected with the 
 New Connexion denomination in his native town of Halifax, 
 gathered together a few persons in sympathy with himself 
 upon coming to Bowling Dyeworks. Being but "feeble folk,"
 
 Rambles Round H or ton. 57 
 
 however, they were unable to afford the high price of ;!62 per 
 yard asked for a corner plot at the end of Thornton Road, but 
 accepted the offer of the Rev. Godfrey Wright of the site at 
 the bottom of Horton Road, at the price of £\ per yard for 
 700 yards. The parties to the deed of purchase were Wm. 
 Grandage ; John Carter, banker's clerk ; John Fearnside, Green 
 Row ; Wm. Ackroyd, grocer, Manchester Road ; and two 
 others. Mr. Grandage was also the first class-leader. The 
 new building cost about £1700, exclusive of the ;^700 paid for 
 the ground. 
 
 The first minister was the Rev. Wm. Trotter, who 
 officiated with such acceptance that soon the membership was 
 raised to over 150 persons. After a few years, however, 
 serious discord was created among the congregation by the 
 conduct of the Rev. Joseph Barker, a minister of the 
 denomination settled at Leeds, who, being on terms of great 
 intimacy with Mr. Trotter, induced him to join in the 
 editorship of a magazine giving publicity to doctrines which 
 by the orthodox New Connexionists were considered unsound. 
 Both individuals were ultimately expelled the Connexion, 
 although, so far as Mr. Trotter was concerned, that course was 
 regarded with great regret by the congregation worshipping 
 at Ebenezer. In consequence of this unpleasantness, a portion 
 of the congregation seceded and erected a small chapel in 
 Croft Street, Mr. Trotter taking charge of it. After a 
 lingering existence the separationists collapsed. 
 
 The Ebenezer Chapel being pronounced unsafe, from 
 some defect in its construction, it was rebuilt in 1861 upon an 
 improved model, but that edifice has also disappeared, owing 
 to the property having been scheduled in the Bradford 
 Improvement Act of 1873, the Corporation at that time 
 contemplating the construction of a thoroughfare in con- 
 tinuation of Manchester Road to Thornton Road. That 
 project, however, has never been carried out, but the 
 scheduling of the property led the congregation to secure 
 another site, resulting in the erection of the present handsome 
 edifice at Mannville, Horton Road. That chapel was opened 
 on March 26th, 1879, and with the adjoining school buildings 
 cost nearl}- ^20,000.
 
 58 Rambles Round Horton. 
 
 There were formerly two good houses adjoining the site 
 of Ebenezer Chapel, and now forming part of the Old Brewery- 
 premises, about which were many interesting associations. In 
 one of them, nearest to Brewery Lane, lived John Hardy, the 
 grandfather of Lord Cranbrook, and here was born his son 
 John, returned in 1832 as one of the first members of 
 Parliament for Bradford. Mr. Hardy previously resided at 
 Horsforth. He used to attend Bradford in his professional 
 duties, and eventually removed here, having succeeded to the 
 business of Mr. John Eagle, a solicitor who piloted the first 
 Leeds and Liverpool Canal Act, and eventually Mr. Hardy 
 was its solicitor and law clerk. He was also one of the first 
 partners of the Low Moor Iron Works. There was a base- 
 ment room to the back of the house at the bottom of Great 
 Horton Road, which was his office. In this office Mr. Samuel 
 Hailstone served his articles with Mr. Hardy, afterwards 
 joining him in partnership. The office, however, was after- 
 wards removed to the corner house at Brewery Lane, and 
 there the business was carried on for some years, and when 
 Mr. Hardy ceased practice it became Mr. Hailstone's property. 
 Previous to that occurring Mr. Hardy had removed to the 
 Manor Hall in Kirkgate. 
 
 Mr. Samuel Hailstone came to Bradford from York in 
 the year 1783, and lived in a house in the Old Market, in 
 Westgate, just above the Central Coffee Tavern. After 
 succeeding to Mr. Hardy's practice, Mr. Hailstone took into 
 partnership Mr. Mason, who became a partner in the Bowling 
 Ironworks, and gave up his profession, marrying a Miss 
 Barber, the daughter of a Bradford attorney. Mr. Paley 
 married another daughter, and the fortunes they received 
 were put into the Bowling Ironworks, along with that 
 invested by the Sturges family. At one time Mr. Hailstone 
 had the late Greenwood Bentley for a partner, and afterwards 
 he took in Mr. John Thompson (the elder brother of the 
 present Mr. Jo. Thompson). Mr. Thompson married a Miss 
 Skelton, the sister of Colonel Skelton, and lived in the house 
 where Mr. Hardy did. He and his wife were passengers 
 in the ill-fated Rothsay Castle, wrecked in Menai Straits in 
 1 83 1, and both perished.
 
 Rdfiib/es Roiiud H or ton. 59 
 
 Mr. Hailstone removed to a small house in Great Horton 
 Road, where he erected the first greenhouse perhaps seen 
 in Bradford, and after he left it the house was enlarged 
 and occupied as a school by the Rev. S. Redhead, who 
 married Miss Rand, and was the first clergyman of the old 
 Bell Chapel. About the commencement of the present 
 century, Mr. Hailstone bought Croft House from the Faber 
 family and largely increased it, and resided there with his 
 family till 1834 or 1835, when he removed to Horton Hall, 
 previously occupied by Mr, John Wood. In 1837 Mr. 
 Hailstone offered for sale the whole of the land lying 
 between Croft House and Bridge Street, which had formed 
 the orchard and grounds to Croft House, and it was bought 
 up for building ground. The demolition of Croft House 
 followed some time after the formation of Croft Street. 
 
 Mr. Hailstone died in December, 185 1, in the eighty- 
 third year of his age. His connection as law clerk with 
 the Leeds and Liverpool Canal was of long standing, and 
 to the close of his professional career he sustained a 
 prominent part in its affairs. When he joined as a share- 
 holder, the shares were at a discount of £^0, but his sagacity 
 led him to look for a very different state of things, and, as is 
 well known, the navigation became a most lucrative concern. 
 His legal practice also was large, and of a high-class 
 character. Mr. Hailstone was a gentleman of high scientific 
 culture, a good botanist and geologist, and possessed a 
 considerable love for the pursuits of natural philosophy. 
 For his attainments he was elected a fellow of the Linnean 
 Society. 
 
 Mr. Hailstone had several sons. One son, Samuel, died 
 at Horton Hall. Another .son, the Rev. John Hailstone, was 
 vicar of Bottisham, Cambridgeshire, afterwards of Anglesea 
 Abbey, in the same county, and died in 1872. 
 
 His youngest son, the present Mr. Edward Hailstone, 
 F.S.A., was born at Croft House. In one way or other 
 this gentleman has been connected with the legal profession 
 for half a century, and for the last thirty-three years has been 
 the law clerk of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal Company. 
 Since the year 1870 Mr. Hailstone has resided at Walton
 
 60 Rambles Round Horttni. 
 
 Hall, near Wakefield, formerly the abode of the eccentric 
 naturalist. Squire Waterton, and has long enjoyed the 
 reputation of possessing one of the largest and most valuable 
 pri\'ate collections of books, manuscripts, and antiquarian 
 treasures in the north of England. In local literature and 
 MS. the Walton collection is specially rich, and its resources 
 have been largely drawn upon in the compilation of works 
 relating to the history of Bradford. Indeed, to Mr. Hailstone 
 we are much indebted for material required in the preparation 
 of these papers on Horton — a place in which, from long 
 association, he maintains more than ordinary interest. 
 
 The Rev. Lamplugh Wickham, who took the name of 
 Hird, and was the father of Mr. H. W. Wickham, M.P., 
 resided in the old house nearest to Ebenezer Chapel, and 
 Mr. George Anderton and Mr. Titus Salt were subsequent 
 occupants.
 
 Rajnb/cs RoiDid Hortoii. ci 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 The Old Brewery— Richard Fawcett — Early Methodism— Old Octagon Chapel — 
 Randal Well — The Mann F'amily — Early Independency — Horton Lane Chapel — 
 Former Ministers. 
 
 Excepting the Old Brewery, we have already noticed all 
 the objects of interest at the "town end" of Bradford calling 
 for special reference. Unlike some of the landmarks in the 
 immediate vicinity which have given place to new creations, 
 that institution still survives, having long ago entered upon 
 the second century of its existence. It is therefore ju.stly 
 entitled to its appellation as the Old Brewery. The date of 
 its origin is the year 1757, when Joseph Storey and Thomas 
 Aked, of Bradford, were in partnership as common brewers 
 with John Whitaker, of Halifax. In 1763 Aked and Storey 
 conveyed their shares to Whitaker, who was succeeded by 
 his son William. Benjamin Thompson, uncle of Mr, M. W. 
 Thompson, married a daughter of Wm. Whitaker, and upon 
 Mr, M. W, Thompson marrying his uncle's surviving daughter, 
 he became the sole owner of the Old Brewery. Considerable 
 interest attaches to the Thompson family through several 
 of its members, but as they have had more immediate 
 connection with the township of Manningham than with 
 that of Horton, we may defer further reference until we 
 touch upon Manningham. Mr. Henry Oates, of Fieldhead, 
 Mr. James Marshall, ironmonger, Kirkgate, Mr. Tho.s, Pullan, 
 and Mr. Henry Leah were formerly partners in the brewery 
 along with Mr. Whitaker. 
 
 Having disposed of the " town end," we arc prepared to 
 ascend to the upper portions of Horton township, and, in 
 making a start, occupy a similar position to that in which Mr. 
 Gladstone was once placed, in having " three courses " open 
 to us. We may ascend either by way of Mancliester Road, 
 Horton Lane, or Horton Road. A more convenient arrange- 
 ment, however, remains, namely, to notice what objects of 
 interest attract our attention in that portion of Little Horton
 
 62 Rambles Ronud H or ton. 
 
 lying nearest to our present standpoint, leaving the higher 
 portions for future reference. 
 
 An examination of the township survey of 1801 is 
 suggestive of several names of residents in the lower part 
 of Horton Road, in addition to those already mentioned, 
 and among them are those of Thomas Hodgson, Richard 
 Fawcett, and John Wood, sen. These were all substantial 
 men of the period. The gentleman last named, who resided 
 in the good house at the bottom of Mann Lane, called 
 Southbrook Lodge, commenced the erection of what after- 
 wards became Messrs. Wood & Walker's worsted factory. 
 The purpose for which that building was erected, however, 
 was not that of worsted spinning, but the manufacture of 
 horn, ivory, and tortoise-shell combs, lanterns, leather ink- 
 bottles, &c., for which the town of Bradford had a reputation 
 before it became famous for worsteds. It was Mr. John 
 Wood, jun., who, with townsmen like Richard Fawcett and 
 others, established the worsted industry. 
 
 Mr. Fawcett was an eminent Hortonian, having been 
 born at Hunt Yard, Great Horton, where his father, a nephew 
 of Dr. Fawcett, the celebrated divine, resided. As we 
 have seen, Mr. Fawcett erected a factory in Union Street, 
 besides owning the mill in the Holme, in the earliest 
 stage of development through which the worsted industry 
 was passing. So identified was he with the district in 
 which we are immediately concerned, that to this day "old 
 inhabitants " speak of Fawcett Holme and Fawcett Hill. 
 Upon the little knoll bearing the latter name Mr. Fawcett 
 erected Westbrook House, the position being regarded as one 
 of the most favoured in Bradford. From the windows of his 
 residence there was not only a good view across the Holme 
 valley, down which meandered a clear running stream, but 
 there was an uninterrupted view of green fields on the other 
 side in the direction of the Bowling valley. 
 
 While comparatively young Mr. Fawcett entered with 
 energy into business, and in conjunction with his father, also 
 named Richard, he purchased the interest of Messrs. Swaine 
 and Ramsbotham in the Holme Mill. He was also a 
 gentleman of great public enterprise, and took part in all
 
 Rambles Round Norton. 
 
 63 
 
 movements in which the welfare of his native town or fellow- 
 townsmen was concerned. He was one of the old Highway 
 Commissioners created by the Act of 1803, and fulfilled the 
 duties for forty-two years. Mr. Fawcett was in fact the 
 leading man of his time, and to such an extent was he so 
 regarded by his fellow-townsmen that he was often familiarly 
 styled " King Richard." Unfortunately, his various schemes 
 of enterprise suffered from commercial depression and other 
 causes, and he died in 1845, if not a wealthy at lea.st an 
 honoured citizen. Mr. Fawcett was one of the old type of 
 Wesleyans, with a strong attachment to the Church of 
 England, and one of his sons, the late Canon Fawcett, M.A., 
 
 Octagon Chapel. 
 
 who married a sister of Mr. H. W. Wickham, M.P., was for 
 over thirty years incumbent of Holy Trinity Church, Low 
 Moor. Another son was the late Mr. Richard Fawcett, 
 woolstapler. 
 
 In immediate contiguity to Wcstbrook House there 
 stood, until the year 18 10, the old Octagon Chapel, the 
 first place of worship erected by the Wesleyans of Bradford. 
 In addition to the undoubted interest attaching to it from 
 this circumstance, the building, from the peculiarity of its 
 construction — having eight sides to it — elicited the remark of 
 John Wesley that it was "the largest octagon we have in
 
 64 Rambles Roujut H or ton. 
 
 England, and the first of the kind where the roof is built with 
 common sense, rising only a third of its breadth." The 
 dimensions of the chapel were fifty-four feet square. It was 
 opened during the summer of 1766. 
 
 Ten years before, however, the disciples of Wesley in 
 Bradford had been gathered into a congregation, according 
 to the Rev. W. VV. Stamp, the historian of Methodism in 
 Bradford, when the second floor of a large building near the 
 Cock-pit in Aldermanbury, having been vacated by the 
 Baptists, was rented by the society. To this, doubtless, Mr. 
 Wesley refers when in 1757 he observes in his journal : — 
 
 Thursday, May 12th. — The latter end of the week I spent in 
 Bradford. Sunday, 15th. — At five the house contained the congregation, 
 but at eight they covered the plain adjoining it 
 
 From the east end of the building, where Mr. Wesley 
 stood when addressing the multitude, " the plain " to the Sun 
 Inn, was then an open space, interrupted only by the beck 
 and the old prison which stood on the site of what are now 
 denominated the Sun Bridge Buildings, whilst to the right, 
 with the exception of three houses forming the west side of 
 Tyrrel Street and one or two small cottages intervening, was 
 a yet further extension of " the plain." Such, with fields 
 extending where Thornton Road now runs, together with the 
 deserted cockpit and dog kennel in juxtaposition, was the 
 neighbourhood in which this early preaching-house was 
 situate. 
 
 During the interval of Mr. Wesley's visits in 1759 and 
 1 76 1 the room near the cockpit, being deemed no longer safe, 
 was given up ; and Mr. James Garnett, piecemaker, then 
 residing at the Paper Hall, kindly offered the use of his barn 
 in Barkerend until better accommodation could be secured. 
 The offer was at once and thankfully accepted, and there for 
 a season the services of Methodism were regularly held. Mr. 
 Stamp also states that Mr. Garnett, to whom Methodism was 
 thus indebted for its second sanctuary in Bradford, was for 
 several years a member of the society. Eventually, however, 
 in conjunction with Messrs. Smith, Balme, Hodgson, and 
 others he assisted in founding an Independent church, 
 meeting for awhile in an upper room in the Brewery yard,
 
 Rambles Round Horfon. 65 
 
 and then removing to a newly-erected chapel in Little 
 Horton Lane. 
 
 In the autumn of the year 1765 land was purchased for 
 the erection of a Wesleyan chapel in Horton Road. The 
 deed, which bears date December 21st, 1765, describes the 
 purchase as an assignment on lease of 999 years, subject to 
 an annual rent of £1 12s., of "all that close or parcel of 
 arable, meadow, or pasture ground called or commonly known 
 by the name of the Hilly Close, formerly in the possession or 
 occupancy of Edward Jobson, and late of Thomas Aked, 
 deceased, and containing two days' work, be the same more 
 or less, situate in Horton, in the parish of Bradford." 
 
 The property was conveyed to the following persons as 
 trustees : — Richard Stocks, grocer and draper, Bradford ; 
 John Hodgson, stuff maker, Horton ; Henry Atkinson, stuff 
 maker, Manningham ; Nathaniel Dracup, shuttle maker, 
 Horton ; Ebenezer Pyrah, stuff maker, Wibsey ; John Butler, 
 stuff maker, Bradford (afterwards of Kirkstall Forge) ; and 
 John Murgatroyd, stuff maker, Horton. What subscriptions 
 were obtained towards the erection of the Octagon in 
 Bradford, or what the collections at its opening, does not 
 appear, but it is upon record that when John Murgatroyd and 
 Richard Fawcett (father of the Richard Fawcett who in after 
 years played so prominent a part in Bradford) sallied forth 
 on a collecting expedition, the first contribution received was 
 the magnificent sum of twopence towards the outlay of 
 ;^997 8s. 9d. ! 
 
 In order that the services might not interfere with those 
 of the Parish Church, the times of worship at the Octagon 
 were nine in the morning, two in the afternoon, and five in 
 the evening ; nor was it till the removal to Kirkgatc, fort}- 
 years afterwards, that the Sacrament was administered in 
 the Methodist chapels of Bradford. In the }ear 1767, a 
 preacher's house was erected adjoining the chapel, the whole 
 expense of both house and furniture being under ^^200. In 
 1 8 10 the property, including the chapel and adjoining houses, 
 was sold to Mr. Richard Fawcett, jun., for ^"1575, and that 
 gentleman subsequently purchased the adjacent plot and 
 built upon it Westbrook House, where he resided, the chapel 
 E
 
 66 Rambles Round Hortoii. 
 
 site being disposed of to Thomas Horsfall. Kirkgate Chapel 
 was opened in May, i8ii. It has received enlargement 
 several times since. While not recording further the history 
 of the Kirkgate sanctuary, we may note as a curiosity that 
 the bottom step of the flight in front of the chapel is said to 
 be the longest stone ever delved in these parts. It is 22 ft. 
 long, and came from Copy Delf. 
 
 Randal Well Close, adjoining the old Octagon Chapel, 
 originally formed part of Sagar's Charity land, left by James 
 Sagar in 1665, out of the proceeds of which 20s. yearly was 
 to be paid to the minister of Thornton Chapel, and the 
 residue to the most needful poor of Thornton. The close 
 obtained its name from the existence of a spring of water 
 arising in a small plantation near the side of the beck. 
 Formerly there was a draw-well there, but when Mr. Fawcett 
 purchased the Holme Mill he put in a pipe from v.'hich the 
 residents of the neighbourhood, after crossing the beck by 
 means of a plank, obtained a never-failing supply. The 
 Randal Well was a common gossiping place up to the year 
 1820. The well is now enclosed in Messrs. Thwaites Bros.' 
 engineering works. 
 
 Within a short distance of the Randal Well Close was 
 reared a mansion of some pretensions called Mannville, 
 associated with the family of Mann. This family is of 
 some interest, from the fact that they were the first stuff 
 merchants in Bradford. The family sprang from. Spen Hall, 
 Cleckheaton. Thomas Mann seems to have been the first 
 to come to Bradford, where he commenced business in 
 the woollen drapery trade in a shop at the corner turning 
 into the yard still known as Mann's Court, in Kirkgate. He 
 also embarked in the artificial cork-leg trade, by which he 
 obtained much popularity and mone}'. These cork-legs were 
 covered v.ith leather by John Brunton, a leather breeches 
 maker, and great Southcottian, whom Rushton celebrates in 
 one of his effusions against Southcottianism as " the cripple 
 mender." It is said they v/ere really tlie invention of one 
 David Haigh, whom Mann employed. This cork-leg business 
 was afterwards sold to Mr. Swithenbank, who carried it on 
 until a late period in premises in Toad Lane. Thomas Mann,
 
 Rambles Round H or ton. 67 
 
 however, seems to have had both this business and the shop in 
 Kirkgate on his hands when he, with his brother John, started 
 the business of stuff merchants, which yielded the family- 
 considerable wealth. This business was carried on in a 
 warehouse behind the shop. John Mann, the brother, built 
 Springfield House, now occupied by Sir Jacob Rehrens, in 
 Manningham Lane. 
 
 Thomas Mann erected Mannville, in Great Horton Road, 
 which is said to be built both inside and out with dressed 
 stone. He had three sons, Joshua, John, of Boldshay Hall, 
 and Thomas, who were united, as they came of age, with 
 their father and uncle in the stuff trade. Joshua succeeded 
 his father at Mannville, where he died, and Mr. John Rawson, 
 the solicitor, lived there afterwards for some years. 
 
 John Mann, of Manningham Lane, the uncle, was married 
 but had no children. He brought up a daughter of his brother 
 Robert, of Spen Hall, and left her most of his property. 
 She married Mr. W. M. Harris. Joshua, of Mannville, died 
 a bachelor, and left his property to Miss Wells, his niece, the 
 daughter of Mr, Wells, who married his sister. Thomas died 
 a bachelor. John resided at Boldshay Hall, and had a family. 
 
 Another place of worship, the congregation of which 
 during the year 1882 celebrated its centenary — was erected 
 not far from the Octagon, namel}-. Horton Lane Chapel. 
 The history of the congregation of Independents worshipping 
 at Horton Lane is in great measure bound up with that of 
 Chapel Lane already noticed. Among the congregation 
 worshipping at the latter place were many who were unable 
 to accept the Unitarian creed which, under the influence of 
 Mr. Dean's teaching, was substituted for the old Presb}-terian 
 doctrine of the Trinity, and being joined by a few Episco- 
 palians, and others whose doctrines were in harmony 
 with those of Whitfield, but whose church principles were 
 Congregational, united in forming an Independent Church. 
 This was in the year 1780. For twelve or eighteen months 
 they met in the malt chamber of the Old Brewery, meanwhile 
 making arrangements to build a more suitable place in which 
 to assemble for worship. Hence the erection of Horton Lane 
 Chapel.
 
 68 Rambles Roitnd H or ton. 
 
 From the original conveyance of the site of this chapel, 
 dated 20th December, 1781, we learn that the ground was 
 purchased from Charles Swain Booth Sharp, Esq., of Horton 
 Hall, by James Garnett, worsted stuff maker, of Bradford ; 
 John Smith, of Bradford, stationer ; Thomas Naylor, Brad- 
 ford, tobacconist ; William Wilkinson, Bradford, worsted stuff 
 maker; Thomas Hodgson, of Scholemoor, worsted stuff 
 maker; John Balme, Bradford, worsted stuff maker; Joseph 
 Wright, Bradford, worsted stuff maker ; Robert Benson, 
 Frizinghall, maltster ; Joseph Robinson, Idle, butcher ; Jonas 
 Smith, Bolton, carpenter ; William Smith, Wibsey, worsted 
 stuff maker ; and John Hutton, Eccleshill, cloth maker. 
 
 The land is described as " all that piece or parcel of land 
 situate, lying, and being in Horton aforesaid, containing 
 thirty-seven yards in length, as the same is railed off from the 
 bottom or north-east end of a close of land called the Croft, 
 the property and in the possession of the said Charles Swain 
 Booth Sharp ; up the said close, the breadth of the same 
 close ; which said piece of land abuts on the lane called 
 Little Horton Lane, on the south-east end thereof ; on a 
 piece of ground the property of Samuel Swaine on the north- 
 east side thereof ; on a close of land the property of Mr. 
 Bower on the north-west end thereof ; and on the remainder 
 of the said close of land from which the piece of land is 
 taken on the south-west side thereof." The amount of the 
 purchase money was ;^I22 los. 
 
 The trust deed contains a full enumeration of the articles 
 of faith of the pm'chasers, and also declares that if any of 
 the original trustees shall cease to be of the sect of Dissenters 
 above mentioned, or change their religious views, or that any 
 of them shall not attend at the intended place of worship for 
 the space of thirteen weeks, except prevented by sickness or 
 other evident call in Divine providence, that it shall be lawful 
 for the remaining trustees and the majority of the church 
 members to nominate and elect other persons in their place. 
 The deed is witnessed by John Brogden and Richard Milnes. 
 At a meeting, held in the vestry of the chapel, December 28, 
 1808, the following persons were chosen to act as trustees 
 in place of several who had died, viz. : — John Balme,
 
 Rambles Round Horfo/i. 69 
 
 Richard Hargreaves, William Pearson, Benjamin Kaye, James 
 Wilkinson, Thomas Waddington, James Cousen, and Joseph 
 Smith. 
 
 In June, 1815, consequent on the "great increase 
 of population and of Dissenters in Bradford and the 
 neighbourhood," it was decided to extend the chapel by seven 
 yards, upon ground in the rear purchased from Mr. John 
 Bower, being portion of a close of land called Wilson Well 
 Croft. The amount of the purchase money was ^39 los. 
 The parties to the deed of purchase were Wm. Wilkinson, 
 Joseph Wright, Jonas Smith, Wm. Smith, and James Hutton 
 (original trustees), and James Cousen, woollen draper ; Thos. 
 Waddington, calico maker ; Jas. Wilkinson, cabinetmaker ; 
 Wm. Pearson, worsted spinner ; Benj. Kaye, Allerton, 
 merchant ; James Garnett, woolstapler ; Lister Naylor, tobacco 
 manufacturer ; Wm. Hargreaves, Idle, scribbler ; Abm. Balme, 
 worsted manufacturer ; William Smith, worsted manufacturer ; 
 Robert Milligan, linen draper ; John Bottomley, accountant ; 
 John Hutton, jun., Eccleshill, clothmaker ; PVancis Ackroyd, 
 worsted manufacturer ; John Bonnell, saddler ; and James 
 Hargreaves, Eccleshill, clothmaker. 
 
 An enlargement of the burial ground also took place in 
 1837 by the additional purchase from the Rev. Godfrey 
 Wright (who had succeeded to Mr. C. S. B. Sharp's estate) of 
 a piece of ground adjoining the minister's house, comprising 
 about three roods, for the sum of ^998, being at the rate of 
 5s. 6d. per yard. In addition to the surviving trustees the 
 parties to the deed of purchase were — Richard Garnett, 
 Joseph Smith, William Hardcastle, John Russell, James 
 Garnett, Robert Monies, Edward Riple}-, Henry William 
 Ripley, John McCroben, William Milnes, James Rennie, 
 Alexander Robertson, and Jonathan Holdsworth. 
 
 By successive enlargements Horton Lane Chapel and 
 Schools grew to the dimensions familiar to many of our 
 readers prior to their being supplanted by the present 
 handsome chapel and school premises. The first step 
 towards the erection of this imposing pile was the building of 
 the schools, which were opened on the 7th September, 1861, 
 and on the 9th September the foundation stone of the new
 
 70 Rambles Round Hortoii. 
 
 chapel was laid by the late Sir H. W. Ripley, who was a 
 large contributor to the building fund. The completed 
 edifice was opened on September 30th, 1863, having cost 
 about i,"i 2,000. Of this large sum all but about £6^0 had 
 been received up to the close of the inaugural services, and 
 this small amount was subscribed the next morning. 
 
 During the hundred years' existence of Horton Lane 
 Chapel five pastors in succession have filled the pulpit. Of 
 this number the first only preached one Sunday, and died 
 during the following week. The second held the pastoral 
 office twenty-five years ; the third twenty-seven years ; the 
 fourth nineteen years ; and the fifth twenty-eight years. 
 Practically, therefore, the century's pastorate was discharged 
 by four ministers, giving an average of twenty-five years to 
 each. 
 
 The first pastor, the Rev. Jas. Crossley, was a native of 
 Saltonstall, in Warley ; he was a disciple of the Rev. W. 
 Grimshaw, incumbent of Haworth, and the first minister of 
 Booth Chapel. After twenty years' service at Booth, he was 
 induced to leave a people to whom he was much attached 
 and come to Bradford, but his ministry here was prematurely 
 cut short, for after preaching one Sunday he died. 
 
 The next minister was the Rev. Thos. Hoklgate, who 
 laboured from the year 1783 until 1807, the year of his death. 
 The only unpleasant episode of Mr. Holdgate's ministry so 
 far as any record exists, was brought about by the attempt 
 to introduce a bass viol into the singing-pew, and so bitter 
 were many of the congregation against it that it was but 
 rarely used. 
 
 The next pastor of the church was the Rev. Thomas 
 Taylor, who came from Ossett to Bradford in 1808, and 
 under whose ministrations Horton Lane Church and con- 
 gregation attained a position of considerable influence in 
 Bradford, comprising within its roll of membership the names 
 of Garnett, Milligan, Forbes, Salt, Ripley, and many others, 
 who were literally the makers of Bradford. Mr. Taylor was 
 a man of remarkable .shrewdness and strength of character, 
 and left the imprint of his mind and labours not only upon 
 his congregation, but upon the town of his adoption. He
 
 Rambles Round Horton. 71 
 
 was greatly beloved and respected, and was familiarly known 
 and spoken of in the town as " good old Mr. Taylor." It was 
 during Mr. Taylor's ministry that Sunday schools were 
 established in Bradford, and two new congregations were sent 
 out from the parent chapel. After retiring from the pastorate 
 he lived to a serene old age, enjoying the profound respect of 
 all, and died in October, 1853. 
 
 Mr. Taylor having retired, the Rev. Jonathan Glyde 
 became his successor in the autumn of 1835. Mr. Glyde, 
 who was a native of Exeter, differed in many respects from 
 his predecessor. A man of original talent, of the purest type 
 of piety, high culture, and one of the gentlest of mankind, he 
 was greatly beloved by his congregation and fellow-townsmen. 
 After nineteen years of devoted pastoral work he died in the 
 forty-eighth year of his age, in December, 1854. The Rev. 
 James Robertson Campbell, D.D., entered upon the pastorate 
 at Horton Lane in 1855, having previously ministered at 
 Edinburgh. Dr. Campbell was a worthy successor of the 
 good men who had preceded him. Possessing many Christian 
 virtues, a gentleman of scholarly attainments,, and imbued 
 with a lofty regard for the responsible office of a Christian 
 minister, he ably filled the pulpit of Horton Lane Chapel 
 during a period of twenty-eight years, retiring only in the 
 autumn of 1883. Dr. Campbell's sudden death, in December, 
 1884, a little more than a year after he had resigned 
 his pastorate, is still a sorrow in the hearts of his former 
 charge. 
 
 After an interval of two years from Dr. Campbell's 
 retirement, the pastorate was accepted by the Rev. Dr. 
 Anderson, of Troy, U.S.A., a gentleman of great ability as a 
 preacher and a devoted pastor. 
 
 As the parent Independent Church in Bradford Horton 
 Lane has a numerous progeny. Of these may be named 
 the congregations at Wibsey, Little Horton, Lidget Green, 
 Eccleshill, Salem, Lister Hills, Saltaire, Bowling, Ryan Street, 
 and Laisterdyke, all directly springing from it. In addition 
 to this list may be named Borough West School, which, as an 
 elementary school, has long enjoyed a reputation of a high 
 order.
 
 72 Rambles Round Horton. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 St. John's Church — St. James's Church — Parson Bull — Bowling Lane — The Old 
 Skinhouse— Jacob Hudson — His Curious Will — The Blackburns — The Cordingleys 
 — Clayton Lane— Baptist College— Dr. Steadman. 
 
 St. John's Church, Manchester Road, was erected during 
 the years 1838-9, at the expense of Mr. J. Berthon, a 
 gentleman residing in the Isle of Wight, and under licence of 
 the Bishop of Ripon service was for some time performed in 
 it, but without any assigned reason it was then closed. For 
 several years afterwards the building remained unconsecrated, 
 the unfortunate loss of a sum of money set aside for the 
 endowment being stated to be the reason. In the year 1844 
 the church was offered for sale, but was afterwards consecrated 
 for public worship. It has subsequently been pulled down, 
 and upon the site a music-hall and theatre have been erected. 
 The new church of St. John the Evangelist in Horton Lane 
 was opened in its stead in 1871. 
 
 St. James's Church, Manchester Road, was erected at the 
 sole expense of Mr. John Wood, junior, of the firm of Messrs. 
 Wood & Walker, upon land purchased from the Fitzgeralds. 
 It is a handsome structure in the lancet style of Gothic 
 architecture, with accommodation for about 1200 worshippers. 
 The first stone was laid by the generous founder on October 
 31st, 1836, and he also endowed it, and erected the .school and 
 parsonage house adjoining. The cost of the whole was stated 
 to be about iJ"io,5oo. Mr. Walker Rawsthorne, an architect of 
 some repute in Bradford at that period, prepared the design. 
 
 The first incumbent of St. James's was the Rev. G. S. 
 Bull, or " Parson Bull," as he was frequently termed, who was 
 intimately associated with Mr. John Wood, the philanthropic 
 manufacturer, Richard Oastler, the Earl of Shaftesbury, and 
 others, in furthering the progress of the Factory Act or Ten 
 Hours Bill. It was during the agitation of that measure that 
 Mr. Wood proposed to erect and endow a church and schools 
 for the use of his workpeople, and he gave the appointment to 
 Mr. Bull, who was then officiating at Bierley Chapel. He was
 
 Rambles Round Hart on. 73 
 
 fortunate in securing in Mr. Ikill a gentleman who was equally 
 at home in superintending building operations, in expounding 
 a sermon, or in delivering philippics from a platform. The 
 schools adjoining the church he built first, and there prepared, 
 as he used to say, the living stones by the time the material 
 church was ready to receive them. Mr. Hull personally 
 superintended the whole of the building works, both as regards 
 the parsonage, church, and schools. The rev. gentleman had 
 been in the navy, and on the erection of the church spire 
 " swarmed " up the scaffolding, and placed the capstone on the 
 top with his own hands. 
 
 It must not, however, be supposed that Parson Bull was 
 wholly absorbed in bricks and mortar. During the period 
 referred to he was faithfully preaching the Gospel, and making 
 speeches everywhere on behalf of the Church Missionary and 
 Pastoral Aid Societies, besides advocating the abridgment of 
 factory labour for children with fearless courage, vigorous 
 eloquence, and untiring perseverance. No wonder that the 
 name of Parson Bull became a household word throughout a 
 great part of the West Riding of Yorkshire It was never 
 known why Mr. Bull left Bradford, but in all probability the 
 unflinching position he took up on the factory question often 
 brought him into unpleasant collision with many whom he 
 otherwise might have counted among his friends. He, how- 
 ever, removed to Birmingham, and began afresh at the Church 
 of St. Matthew's before it was consecrated. The names of 
 two of his successors, the Rev. William Sherwood and Canon 
 Burfield, will also long be had in remembrance in connection 
 with St. James's Church. 
 
 As we have drifted into Manchester Road, or Bowling 
 Lane as it used to be called when St. James's Church 
 was erected, we may as well note the appearance of that 
 thoroughfare in the early part of the century. Long after 
 the abolition of the toll-bar at the " town end," there was one 
 placed at the top of the street leading down to St. James's 
 Church. Excepting a few houses clustered near the toll-bar, 
 almost the entire length of Bowling Lane towards Bradford 
 was destitute of buildings of any description. A little above 
 Mrs. Bacon's grounds there stood and still stands the maltkiln
 
 74 Ranibies Round Horton. 
 
 owned by John Tordoff, and afterwards occupied by Thomas 
 Hill. At John Tordoff's house there lodged the first German 
 merchant who came to settle in business in Bradford. All 
 the land at the rear, extending to Horton Lane, was open, 
 and belonged to Mr. C. S. B. Sharp ; and the same remark- 
 applies to Miss Bower's land, extending up Manchester Road 
 from the maltkiln to Isaac Rountree's flour shop, near the 
 toll-bar. 
 
 Providence Primitive Methodist Chapel was erected in 
 1824, and about the same period Hope Street, King Street, 
 and Xlarence Street were laid out and filled with working- 
 class dwellings upon the " back-to-back " .system, principally 
 by Messrs. J. & R. Turner and Mr. John Wood. Owing 
 to the effects of a calamitous fire the chapel was totally 
 destroyed in 1861, and rebuilt shortly afterwards. 
 
 A similar fate befell the Borough Corn Mill opposite on 
 the 1st of January, 1874, after it had been much enlarged by 
 Messrs. James Ellis & Co., who purchased the property in 
 1870 from Messrs. W. & J. Pilling. Messrs. Pilling, who 
 had previously occupied Sams Mill, near Thiefscore Bridge, 
 completed the erection of their new mill in Manchester Road 
 in 1843. Messrs. Thomas Burnley & Co. were the builders, 
 and the engines and boilers were supplied by the Low Moor 
 Iron Company. 
 
 Upon the opposite side of the road there resided about 
 this period Mr. Wm. Murgatroyd, afterwards of Bankfield, 
 Bingley, his partner, Mr. Miles lUingworth, and Mr. John 
 Russell, the head of the firm of Russell, Douglas & Co. 
 Closely adjoining was the lawyer's office occupied and owned 
 by Mr. Samuel Hailstone — to whom reference has already 
 been made ; then came an open plot of ground belonging to 
 Miss Hartley, afterwards occupied by Mr. Robert Crosland's 
 engineering works; and next to this plot came Croft House, 
 purchased by Mr. Hailstone from Mr. Faber, of the firm of 
 Faber & Duffield, merchants, and bought by that gentleman 
 from a Mr. Edward Taylor. 
 
 The erection of Marshall's Mill in 18 18 led to the building 
 of a few houses in the neighbourhood of Portland Street, a 
 step followed shortly afterwards by Mr. VVm. Rand, who added
 
 RiDiibles Round Horton. 75 
 
 many working-class dwellings to this street. Subsequently 
 Adelaide Street, Queen Street, Caledonia Street, and Mary- 
 gate sprang into existence, through the building enterprise of 
 Messrs. Jere. Parker, John Crook, Kd. Ripley, John Wood, 
 and others, the opposite side of the road occupied by Grafton 
 Street, Fitzgerald Street, &c., still remaining vacant. It will 
 thus be seen how comparatively new are the densely.packed 
 dwellings and shop property in Manchester Road. The new 
 road to Halifax was opened in 1826, and from that period 
 the name Bowling Lane gave place to that of Manchester 
 Road. 
 
 Beyond the toll-bar there is no object calling for special 
 reference except the old Skinhouse, situate near to Albion 
 Mill, one of the few homesteads of the .seventeenth century 
 remaining in this part of Horton. Above the entrance are 
 
 the initials | ^^h and the date 1660. The old Skinhouse 
 
 is typical of the period when the early stuffmakers of 
 Bradford farmed their own small estates, occupying them- 
 selves and their families alternately with the mixed labour of 
 weaving and combing, and tilling the land. Of this class 
 in the middle of last century was Jacob Hudson, woolcomber. 
 He was a man of industry and frugal habits, and in those 
 virtues his sober-minded wife Grace joined. She "jigged" 
 and he " straightened " until in the course of a few years, by 
 investing his savings in small parcels of wool, and working 
 them into tops, he was enabled to accomplish the grand 
 object of his heart — the purchase of an estate of land, and 
 accordingly bought and afterwards resided at the Skinhouse 
 estate, consisting of a farmhouse and twenty-two acres of land. 
 Jacob Hudson was a singular character in many respects. 
 He was a regular attendant at the old Presbyterian Chapel, 
 Chapel Lane, and a very worthy man, but he apparently 
 lacked a forgiving disposition, for we are told that on one 
 occasion a member of the congregation gave him some cause 
 of offence, and he declared that henceforth he would not sit in 
 the same building with him. Jacob went regularly to chapel, 
 but he never sat down in it. His remains, with those of his 
 wife, lie in the chapel yard.
 
 76 Rambles Round Hovton. 
 
 Old Jacob, in making his will in 1772, did not forget that 
 his wife had greatly contributed to the getting of the estate , 
 and determined (as they had no children) that her relations 
 should join with his in the benefit of it. He accordingly 
 determined that what had been gathered so hardly and come 
 into the family so slowly should never depart from it. Calling 
 in an old lawyer named Brogden (father of the last Mr. 
 Brogden, of Bradford), they concocted what they conceived 
 would bind it in the family to all eternity. Jacob gave 
 to each of nineteen persons (his relatives) and their heirs 
 sums varying from £\ to £6 a year out of the rents and 
 profits of the estate for ever, an arrangement which was 
 never to be altered. 
 
 But the law abhors what old Jacob loved — namely, 
 perpetuities, or keeping an estate in the same family for ever — 
 and the will was therefore soon pronounced to be in that 
 particular defective. As, however, he had so bound it that it 
 could not be sold, the estate still remained in the same 
 families, although the parties entitled to the rents had, through 
 very numerous descents, increased to a great number. Some 
 of them only received out of the estate a few shillings a year. 
 The estate was well adapted for building sites. It was 
 therefore resolved by the parties entitled to it, as the only 
 course for loosing old Jacob's bonds, that application should be 
 made to Parliament for an Act to enable them to sell it. The 
 application was made in 1848, and an Act obtained at great 
 expense enabling them to sell the property and divide the 
 proceeds — this being probably the first private estate bill ever 
 solicited from Bradford. 
 
 The Act above referred to enumerates the various 
 relatives who were made devisees under Jacob Hudson's will, 
 among them being Jacob Lister the elder, John Lister, Joseph 
 Lister, Mary and Grace Lister, John Lister of Tingley, Mark 
 Brook, John Booth, Grace Harrison, Mary Atkinson, Joseph 
 Gaunt, Jonathan Gaunt, Ann Birk, and Martin Gaunt, 
 being the names of persons mostly residing in Bradford 
 and its immediate neighbourhood. The estate out of which 
 the small annuities were to be paid was vested in John 
 Bower, Isaac Ilollings, James Garnett, and John Balme, as
 
 Raiiiblcs Round Horfoji, 
 
 77 
 
 'a 
 
 ^ 
 
 ■■o
 
 78 Rambles Round Horfon. 
 
 trustees. The trustees acting at the period of the passing of 
 the Act were Messrs. Richard Garnett, James Garnett, Wm. 
 Hardcastle, and Joseph Smith, and upon the three trustees 
 first named devolved the disposal of the estate. In addition 
 to the homestead, there were several closes of land, called the 
 Five Day Work, the Croft, the Low Field, the Great Ing, the 
 Round Hill, and the Andrew, occupied by Benj. Blaymires, 
 and other closes in the occupation of John Cordingley and 
 Samuel Cordingley, besides two closes of land in Horton 
 called the Upper and Lower Westcroft. 
 
 The Cordingleys had, long prior to 1848, the date of the 
 Hudson Estate Act, occupied a portion of Jacob Hudson's 
 estate, and being fellmongers gave the appellation of the 
 Skinhouse to the building. \\\ 1801 James Cordingley and 
 Abraham Blackburn occupied the estate betwixt them. The 
 latter was the father of Mr. Bailey Blackburn, of Bradford, 
 and was a maltster and corn merchant. In 1812 he removed 
 to Cropper Lane, and had a lease of the Soke Mills, 
 at Bradford. The Blackburn family originally came from 
 Knaresbro' Forest. 
 
 A singular and fatal incident befell James Cordingley 
 during his occupancy in October, 1827. Either from pleasure 
 or in order to guard his premises he kept several ferocious 
 dogs, which at night were allowed to roam at large. This 
 circumstance proved fatal to their master, for, returning home 
 one night somewhat inebriated, the dogs did not recognise his 
 voice, and worried him upon his own doorstones to such an 
 extent that he died. A mysterious fatality also attached to 
 that portion of the homestead inhabited by the Blamires 
 family, who succeeded Abraham Blackburn in a portion of the 
 Skinhouse ; John Blamires was found dead in the garden in 
 front of the house, with his head overhanging a well which still 
 exists. 
 
 The Skinhouse was purchased along with an adjoining 
 close of land by Mr. Thomas Dewhirst, of Laisterdyke, in 
 1850, this being the first purchase under the Act obtained by 
 Hudson's trustees, and upon the vacant land adjoining Mr. 
 Dewhirst erected Albion Mill. The remaining building 
 ground still perpetuates the name of its former eccentric
 
 Rambles Round Horton. 79 
 
 proprietor, one of the. streets being named Jacob Street and 
 another Skinhouse Street. 
 
 Following the lead of Manchester Road from the 
 Skinhouse we should soon cross the boundary dividing 
 Horton from Bowling, so must retrace our steps, noticing by 
 the way that the Lister's Arms Inn, in the immediate locality, 
 dates from the opening of the new road to Halifax in 1826, 
 having been erected by Mr. Ellis Cunliffe Lister, who owned 
 considerable property in the neighbourhood. Prior to its 
 erection there had been a "public" at P^our Lane Ends, just 
 behind the Skinhouse, kept by William Blackburn, brother of 
 Abraham Blackburn, who removed to the Lister's Arms in 
 the new road when the licence was transferred there. In 
 November, 1828, he was succeeded b}' John Blackburn, who 
 was landlord until 1841. For some time after its erection 
 there was no public-house between the Lister's Arms and the 
 New Inn in Tyrrel Street upon one side, and the Craven 
 Heifer in Smiddles Lane on the other. The house was made 
 use of by passing coaches, a large copper kettle being kept on 
 the hob in winter time filled with good home-brewed, and 
 spiced with sugar and ginger for the comfort of passengers. 
 The back parlour of the house was generally patronised on a 
 Sunday morning b}' a icw celebrities, who, after the beadle 
 with his staff, and John Andrew his constable, had paid their 
 morning visit, discussed the events of the week while 
 enjoying their home-brewed — for there were little spirits 
 consumed in those days. 
 
 Clayton Lane took its name from John Clayton, who 
 erected a substantial house, dated 1776, in that remote 
 thoroufrhfare. In the same lane there once existed a 
 Jerusalemite Church, where in former times assembled a 
 goodly number of the disciples of Johanna Southcott. An 
 interesting chapter might be written of the vagaries of this 
 body of misguided fanatics, led by Prophet Wroe, but their 
 peculiar doctrines were not confined to the township of 
 Plorton. A little higher up Clayton Lane was erected in 
 1839 a Wesleyan Chapel to commemorate the centenary of 
 Methodism. It has since been superseded by the more 
 graceful erection called Annesley Chapel. The top ol
 
 80 Rambles Round H art on. 
 
 Clayton Lane once rejoiced in the name of Sodom, the 
 immediate locahty being the abode of hand-combers and 
 others engaged at " Dick Smith Mill." 
 
 The Baptist College, situate near the top of what is now 
 known as Park Road, was founded under the auspices of the 
 Northern Baptist Education Society in the year 1805. The 
 premises occupied for the academic studies and residence of the 
 young men intended for the ministry, comprising a warehouse 
 and dwellinghouse, were purchased from Mr. John Balme in 
 
 1 8 17, and were rebuilt in 1825. Towards the foundation of 
 this institution removed to its present site at Rawdon in 1859) 
 Samuel Broadley, of Bradford, gave ;^5000, and other Baptists 
 very liberal sums. 
 
 The Rev. Wm. Steadman, D.D., was the sole tutor until 
 
 1818, when he became minister at Westgate Chapel. He died 
 in 1837, and was succeeded as president and theological 
 tutor by the Rev. James Acworth, LL.D., the Rev. Francis 
 Clowes being classical tutor. Dr. Steadman was a native of 
 Herefordshire, and a man whose learning was of solid 
 foundation, being blessed with a memory so retentive that what 
 he once learnt he always retained. Of his character as a 
 Christian teacher much has been already published. His 
 sympathies were of the broadest, with a special leaning 
 towards those less endowed in intellectual gifts than himself 
 Personally he was somewhat ungainly in appearance. His 
 corpulent personage, awkward manners, negligent dress, 
 well-known cough, bad e}'esight, and singular physiognomy, 
 although yet dimly remembered by few, are gilded over by the 
 image of the old doctor as he sallied forth, staff in hand, upon 
 some errand of mercy, with his pockets full of apples for 
 children, and with more valuable gifts for those of larger 
 growth. During the long period of forty-six years he 
 preached about 1 1,000 times, baptized 700 professed disciples, 
 educated for the ministry about lOO young men, attended 
 more than 100 ordinations, and officiated at the opening of 
 forty places of worship ! 
 
 During the period when Dr. Steadman was in his prime, 
 and even up to the time of his death in 1837, Little Horton 
 Lane was a solitary part of the town. Between Horton Lane
 
 Rambles Roiiiid Hortou. 81 
 
 Chapel and Rand's Mill there was a stretch of open fields 
 extending to Melbourne Place, where the first break- in the 
 monotony was made by Mr. Jonathan Cordingley in 1838, by 
 the erection of a house fronting to Horton Lane. The late 
 Mr. Wm. Andrews followed suit a little higher up on the other 
 side of the lane, a retired Scotch gentleman named Corson 
 erecting an adjoining residence, and shortly afterwards Mr. 
 Joseph Smith, land agent, built the house long occupied by 
 him. The opening out of the estates of Colonel Fitzgerald, 
 of Boldshay Hall, brought into existence Fitzgerald Street 
 and other outlets to Manchester Road. For some time after 
 this, however, a toll-bar stood at the top of George Street, now 
 Grafton Street.
 
 8'2 Rmnbles Round Horton. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Horton House — Joseph Hinchliffe, Schoolmaster — The leister Family, of Horton 
 and Shibden — ^Joseph Lister, Historian — The Fitzgeralds — Lawrence Sterne, 
 Author of " Tristram Shandy." 
 
 From the point at which we have arrived in these 
 " rambles " a good view is obtainable of Horton House, which 
 is only divided by a lawn from Horton Lane. In former days 
 the greensward in front of the house generally presented a 
 lively aspect, the adjoining residence being at that time an 
 academy for young gentlemen, kept by Joseph Hinchliffe. 
 A generation ago this scholastic establishment was held in 
 high repute for the excellence of the teaching given there. 
 Not a few gentlemen of Bradford and the neighbourhood 
 who subsequently attained exalted positions owed their ; 
 
 educational training to Joseph Hinchliffe, and for many years 
 his former pupils formed a " Hinchliffe Club," and dined 
 together once a year. One of his assistants was Mr. Joseph j 
 
 Riley, a gentleman who afterwards gained a reputation as a V 
 
 schoolmaster at Rawdon and Steeton, subsequently removing 
 to Pannal, near Harrogate. His brother Edmund Riley, 
 another Bradford schoolmaster, also received his training as 
 assistant at Horton House Academy. We believe that Mr. 
 Hinchliffe took up the teaching connection of Mr. Nesbitt, a 
 celebrated schoolmaster in Westgate, whose works on "Mensu- 
 ration" and " Arithmetic" had a far more than local reputation. 
 
 Mr. Hinchliffe v/as a Moravian, and chiefly through his \ 
 
 influence the Moravian Chapel at Holme Top was erected. ] 
 
 He was also most zealous in teaching the young collier lads i 
 
 at Wibsey, gathering them on Sundays for that purpose at 
 the place of worship long maintained by the Moravians at 
 Chapel Fold, Brownroyd Hill. Mr. Hinchliffe was the author 
 of several works on the art of speaking ; and one of them, 
 entitled the " Academic Speaker," illustrated with plates, 
 attained some reputation, and he also published several books 
 of poems. Mr. Hinchliffe was a man of a very active and 
 energetic mind, and fully alive to the all-important duties of
 
 Rambles Round H or ton. 83 
 
 his position. His bodily activity was so great that he might 
 be Htcrally said to be ahvays occupied. The hitter years of 
 his life were, however, unfortunately embittered by the loss 
 of the greater portion of his hard-earned savings, which, 
 although invested with care and apparent prudence, were lost 
 by others over whom he had no control. As soon, however, 
 as his difficulties became known, his former pupils formed a 
 committee and immediately raised amongst themselves a very 
 substantial pecuniary testimonial, amounting to upwards of 
 ;!^700 ; thus alleviating, as far as possible, the pain which loss 
 of property almost invariably occasions to those who have no 
 longer the physical power to retrieve their position. Mr. 
 Hinchliffe was interred at the Moravian settlement at Fulneck 
 in April, 1853, aged seventy-two years. 
 
 Horton House at the period of which we write was the 
 property but not the residence of Colonel Fitzgerald, who 
 lived at Boldshay Hall, Barkerend. The property came to 
 him, however, by his marriage with the daughter of Dr. 
 Crowtlier, who had married a niece of Samuel Lister, of 
 Horton. The Lister family, therefore, were the ancient 
 possessors of Horton House, and bore the same arms (ermine 
 on a fess sable, three mullets or, a canton gules), and were, 
 like the Listers of Ovenden and Shibden, descended from 
 the Listers of the township of Halifax. 
 
 The Listers of Horton may be traced to a remote period 
 in local history. From abundant documentary evidence 
 before us it appears that the family held land in Northowram 
 by copy of court roll in succession from father to son from 
 the year 1422. The descent of the family might even be 
 traced to the year 1272, when Bate le Lister, or, according 
 to the Latin rendering, " tinctor," of Halifax, purchased half 
 an acre of land in Northowram, in Hipperholme greaveship, 
 of William of Halifax, the miller (molendinarius). From 
 him descended John Bate-son, living in 1329, and Richard, 
 son of Bate. In 1382 Robert Lister, probably the son of 
 Richard, had a licence for dyeing granted to him tor life 
 by the Monastery of Lewes, the priors whereof v/ere lords 
 of the manor of Halifax, and he served as constable of 
 Halifax in 1372.
 
 84 Rambles Round H or ton. 
 
 From the above enumeration we derive some interesting 
 information as to the origin of names. A dyer in remote 
 times was known as a lister, lyster, lyttester, dyer, dyster, or 
 dister, while in legal documents the Latinised form of tinctor 
 was employed. Thus Bate the " tinctor," or dyer, became 
 Bate the " lister," and ultimately the latter became the 
 surname of the family. Another name seems to have sprung 
 from the same root. Bate the "lister" had sons, one of whom 
 in 1329 is called Bate-son, and thus we have the now common 
 name of Bateson. In a similar manner have become localised 
 such names as Walker, one who thickened cloth by treading 
 it before the invention of fulling machinery ; Webster, a 
 weaver ; Barker, a tanner, and others. 
 
 Resuming our notes of the Lister family, we find that 
 the Robert Lister who in 1382 held the exclusive privilege of 
 dyeing in the manor of Halifax was succeeded by Richard, 
 who in 141 2 was constable of Halifax and an imxportant man. 
 He held a lease of the tolls of the town of Halifax, and in 
 addition to the inheritance from the above-named Robert of a 
 messuage and land in Halifax, he was the owner by purchase 
 of several estates in Halifax and Northowram, and paid in 
 1409 the highest rent of all their Halifax tenants to the lords 
 of that manor — the Prior and Convent of Lewes. In 142 1 he 
 purchased from John Naylor two acres lying under " Haylay 
 Bank." In 1429 he also purchased a close of land in 
 Northowram, called the " Yvepighill," of John Symson. In 
 1435 Richard Lister took of the lords of the manor a certain 
 parcel of waste land in Halifax adjoining the " North Brige," 
 near which was a mill pond belonging to him, and doubtless 
 used by him in his business, and in 1439 he released to 
 Richard Moore his rights in a close of land called Horlaw- 
 greene Close, in Northowram, which formerly belonged to 
 Richard Illingworth, and whose daughter, Cecilia, Moore 
 had married. 
 
 The names given above will be readily identified by those 
 acquainted with the locality. The Ovenden and Northowram 
 estates continued in the Lister family until sold in 1756 by 
 Samuel Lister, J. P., of Horton, to Mr. John Watkinson. The 
 farm at Ovenden was called " Parklands " or " Parkroyd."
 
 Ra/iiblcs Round Morton. 85 
 
 In 1452 the Northowram estates of Richard Lister were 
 surrendered by him to the use of his son WilHam, who had 
 evidently begun to assume a position in the locahty. In 
 Glover's Visitation, 1612, the pedigree of the Listers of Hull 
 is traced to this Richard, as is also that of the Shibden family, 
 as recorded in tlie Heralds College. 
 
 The Listers, although owning lands at Horton, appear to 
 have lived at Ovenden until Jolin Lister, grandson of the 
 above-named William Lister, about 1524. came to reside here; 
 and paid to the subsidy levied in that year " for ^3 
 lands, 3s.," in Horton tov/nship. In the muster roll for the 
 "liberties of Bradford," temp. Henry VIII., under the head 
 of Horton, we find that this John Lister was one of the five 
 township-men who furnished a " horse and harness " apiece, 
 and he is described as one of thirt\' who carried " bills." His 
 son was Richard, who succeeded to the Horton and Ovenden 
 lands in 1543, and died in 1546, seised in fee by military 
 service (the sixteenth part of one knight's fee^ of " one 
 messuage, 20 acres of land, 12 acres of meadow, and 
 100 acres of pasture in Horton." Richard Lister's successor 
 was his son Thomas, three years old at his father's 
 death. He appears to have liv^ed chiefly at Parklands, 
 Ovenden, and to have died there, as his children were all 
 baptised at Halifax. An ancient deed, dated 1591, however, 
 affords presumptive evidence that prior to his decease there 
 were members of the Lister family resident at Horton, as 
 Thomas Lister and John Lister are both parties to a 
 conveyance by William Collinson to Robert Collinson of 
 " two closes tn Horton, abutting on lands belonging to John 
 Armitage, of Kirklees, on the south side, and on the north 
 by the moor or common of Horton." The deed was drawn 
 by Abm. Lister, attorney, of Bowling. 
 
 Thomas Lister died in 1606, seised, according to a post 
 mortem inquisition of the Court of Wards, in fee b}- military 
 service, of "one messuage and 3^ bovates of land, meadow and 
 pasture, containing 40 acres, to the same messuage belonging 
 in Horton, and also of 14 acres of land in Horton. and one 
 other messuage and 10 acres of land, meadow and pasture, 
 in Ovenden."
 
 86 Rambles Round H or ton. 
 
 Thomas Lister married Sibella Nortliend at Halifax, and 
 left two sons, John, his heir and forty years old at his father's 
 death, and Samuel. The latter married, in 1598, Susanna, 
 daughter of William Drake, of Northovvram, and was the 
 founder of the Shibden Hall branch of the Lister family. 
 Shibden Hall is situate in the lower portion of Shibden Dale, 
 and is a fine example of the timber-built residences of the 
 earlier part of the fifteenth century. The earliest possessors 
 were a family named Otes, who appear to have been w^ell 
 settled there by the year 14 10. Owing to careful treatment 
 at the hands of subsequent owners, the hall retains much of 
 its original character, and it is not likely to suffer while under 
 the guardianship of its present owner, Mr. John Lister, M.A., 
 a lineal descendant of Samuel Lister, named above. 
 
 John, the elder brother of Samuel Lister, succeeded to 
 the Horton and Ovenden estates, and resided at Little 
 Horton. \\\ 161 2 it was found by an inquisition that "John 
 Lister, of Little Horton, payeth yearly one pair of ivJiite spurs 
 to the King." The curious nature of this tenure had its origin 
 in the feudal disposition of lands generally. \x\ the great 
 survey taken in 131 1 of all the territorial possessions of the 
 Lacies; the Abbot of Kirkstall, for four oxgangs (or 48 acres) 
 of land in Horton, was only required to present yearly a pair 
 of white spurs. Such tenures w^ere not unfrequent at the 
 period referred to, especially in respect to lands held by 
 religious houses. It has been assumed by Mr. John James 
 that the land in question was the gift of the Lacies, and that 
 it lay near to Burnet Field. A sister of John Lister, of Little 
 Horton, was married in 1602 to Caleb Kempe,*B.D., vicar of 
 I^radford. 
 
 A succession of Johns, three in number, followed. By 
 the terms of a revoked will made in 1678, John Lister, 
 gentleman, described as late of Ovenden, but now of Horton, 
 devised " all that messuage called Parkroyd, in Wheatley, 
 with lands, &c., to his son Joseph, also his interest in the lease 
 of Mixenden Mills, which he had of my lords Halifax." Two 
 messuages, lands, and farms in Horton, in his own occupation 
 and that of Thomas I'^ox, together with his Halifax and 
 Lancashire estates, he left to his son John the younger, for
 
 Rambles Ran id Morton. 87 
 
 the term of " fourscore years if he should hve so long," and 
 after his death to his son Samuel Lister, his heirs, &c., and in 
 default of such issue then to John Lister, a younger son of 
 John his son. To Samuel Lister, as eldest son of his father 
 John, the family property descended, and as heir to his 
 younger brother, also named John, whose will was dated 
 1705, he succeeded to "all those two messuages or tenements 
 situate in Ovenden, late in the several occupations of John 
 
 Allinson and Jonathan ; and also that tenement called 
 
 Park House, now in the tenure of James Smith, and also 
 those two messuages situate in Horton, in the occupations of 
 the said testator, and also his other tenements wheresoever 
 situate." 
 
 Samuel Lister married Martha, a daughter of William 
 Midgley, of Scholemoor, one of the influential families of the 
 period. He died in 1752, leaving issue an only son Samuel 
 and a daughter Elizabeth. Samuel Lister, the younger, born 
 in 1 7 14, married Mary Midgley, another member of the 
 Scholemoor family of that name, for his first wife. She died 
 in 1764 without issue, and he married secondly Dorothy, 
 daughter of Wm. Lister, of Shipley. There was no issue of 
 the second marriage. 
 
 Samuel Lister lived at Little Horton, and probably 
 rebuilt the present substantial residence called Horton House. 
 He was for some years a justice of the peace, and an 
 influential member of the community. He disposed of the 
 Ovenden estates inherited by him to John Watkinson, jun., in 
 1756, but must have added considerably to the extent of his 
 Horton property, as his name frequently occurs in deeds of 
 conveyance as mortgagee or purchaser of land and messuages 
 in the neiehbourhood. Under the deed of settlement made 
 in 1766 on the marriage of Samuel Lister with his second 
 wife Dorothy, the Horton estates are described as " all that 
 capital messuage in Little Horton wherein he dwelt, together 
 with closes known as Hargreave Land, Hollingreave, Hutchcn 
 Yard, and Great Flatt, occupied by Benjamin Stables ; Narr 
 Langside, purchased by Samuel Lister of Benjamin Kennet, 
 clerk, and inherited by him from his grandfather, Mr. 
 Stockdale ; also the messuage wherein Abraham Balme
 
 88 Rambles Round Horton. 
 
 did dwell, and the Great Laistridge, Little Laistridge or 
 Mary Hind Fields, occupied by Abraham Balme ; also 
 Boggard Close, occupied by John Balme ; Three Nook, 
 occupied by Henry Blagburn ; also Bowling Ing, Pudding 
 Ing, Tumbling Hill, and other closes in Horton occupied 
 by John Whitaker ; also the Norcroft Brow, purchased by 
 Samuel Lister of Thomas Aked, and previously owned by 
 Faith Sawrey, wadow ; also the Far Silbridge, occupied by 
 Richard Hargreaves ; and three messuages in Kirkgate 
 occupied by John Fearnley, John Tottie, and Samuel 
 Wilkinson ; and another house in Kirkgate, occupied by 
 Mr. Sedgwick, together with two closes of meadow land at 
 Piper Grave and Manningham Stoop, in the occupation of 
 Mr. Sedgwick ; also a road 14 ft. wide, called the Cockholme, 
 leading to the School Holme, Mr. Bartlett's Holme, the 
 Norcroft, and the Langsides above mentioned," &c. 
 
 Samuel Lister died in 1769. In his will, made before 
 the death of his first wife, Mary, and after provision made for 
 her, he bequeathed his estate in trust to his friend Benjamin 
 Bartlett, of Bradford, with a provision that a sum of iJ^200 
 should be paid to him for his trouble in realising outstanding 
 mortgages, and in seeing to the discharge of all his debts. 
 The residue of his estate he devised to " Samuel Lister, of 
 Horton, gentleman," during the term of his natural life, 
 and in default of heirs male to his the testator's niece, 
 Mary Hemingway, with the proviso that in case of her 
 marriage she and her husband should take the surname of 
 Lister, and reside at Horton House. In the event of these 
 conditions not being complied with, the estates were to pass 
 to Japhet Lister, of Northgate House, Halifax ''brother to 
 Jeremy Lister, of Shibden Hall), and his heirs male. Japhet 
 Lister, however, died leaving only one daughter. 
 
 The " Samuel Lister, of Horton," to whom the Horton 
 estates were thus bequeathed, subsequently resided at 
 IManningham, and was an attorney-at-law and clerk to the 
 trustees of the turnpike road between Bradford and Keighley, 
 by way of Toller Lane and Cottingley ; also of the turnpike 
 between Dudley Hill and Killinghall. He married Mary, the 
 daughter of Dorothy Stapleton (who was a Sharpy, and died
 
 1 
 
 
 
 .fflKS3 
 
 BRHV^^IH^H 

 
 Rambles Round Hortoii. 89 
 
 without issue in 1792. He is described as a cousin of the 
 Listers of Shibden. At any rate, he never came into the 
 property, nor did Mary Hemingway. 
 
 In explanation, it should be stated that Elizabeth, sister 
 of Samuel Lister, married in 1740 Henry Hemingway, a 
 noted attorney, then residing at Boldshay Hall. She died in 
 1772. leaving an only daughter, Mary, the " niece " referred to 
 in Samuel Lister's will, and who was married to Dr. Crowther, 
 of Leeds, and subsequently of York. Samuel Lister, how- 
 ever, married again, as stated above, I^orothy Lister, and she 
 became tenant for life of her husband's estates. At his decease 
 Dorothy married for her second husband Richard Hodsden, 
 and it was only after her death in 1814 that Miss Elizabeth 
 Crowther, the only surviving daughter of Dr. Crowther and 
 Mary Hemingway, entered into possession of the Lister 
 estates as heir-at-law of Samuel Lister, besides succeeding to 
 the Boldshay propert}'. 
 
 In 1819 Elizabeth Crowther married Colonel Thos. Geo. 
 Eitzgerald, of Turlough Castle, Ireland. Of this marriage 
 were Henry Thomas George Fitzgerald, born at Boldshay in 
 1820, and two daughters. Colonel Fitzgerald married for his 
 first wife Delia, daughter of Joshua Field, of Heaton Hall, 
 and sister of Mr. John Wilmer Field, and had one son, 
 who took the Irish estates. Colonel Fitzgerald resided at 
 Boldshay Hall, and took a position among the gentry of the 
 period. His son. Major Fitzgerald, who is still living in the 
 south of England, married Elizabeth Harriet Yates, eldest 
 daughter of the Rev. S. W. Yates, of Reading, and has three 
 sons and two daughters. 
 
 In collating the above from \'oluminous manuscripts we 
 have confined our remarks pretty generally to the line of 
 the Horton Listers. There were evidently, however, various 
 branches in and around Bradford, and probably of the same 
 parent stock — the Listers of Halifax. Confirmation of this 
 is furnished by the lists of guests invited to funerals of 
 members of the Lister family of Shibden Hall, in which 
 the Listers of Wibsey, Horton, Manningham, and Bolton 
 are mentioned, and in some cases are referred to as
 
 90 Rambles Round H or ton. 
 
 The Listers were zealous friends of the ParHamentarians 
 during the Civil Wars, and in "James's History of Bradford" 
 we find the following reference to that period : — 
 
 John Lister, the father, and Joseph Lister, the son, resided in a 
 house on the site of Horton Low Hall, and were clothmakers, and 
 suffered terribly from the pillage of the town by the Royalist troops after 
 the seige of Bradford in 1643. 
 
 The original document setting forth the claim for 
 compensation put in by the family is in the possession of 
 Mr. Hailstone, of Walton Hall, who has kindly furnished us 
 with the followino- extract from it : — 
 
 'fc> 
 
 5 13 
 
 72 4 
 
 4 
 
 
 
 ... /228 4 
 
 6 
 
 Certificate of money paid by John Lister, the father, and Joseph 
 Lister, the son, inhabitants in Horton, in the parish of Bradford Dale, 
 being constant in their affections and actions for the Parliament and loss 
 at the taking of the said town by the Earl of Newcastle's army upon the 
 2d and 3d July, A.D. 1643, as followeth : — 
 
 I tems — 
 
 Lent upon the public faith ^10 o o 
 
 Item one meare put into Colonell Bright's 
 
 Troop with her garniture 
 
 Item in free quarter 
 
 Total of the Account 
 
 Put in Dec. 17, 1649. 
 
 Many other items are contained in the original document 
 referring to articles taken away or destroyed by the Royalist 
 troops, while other entries show that necessaries had been 
 provided by the Listers for the Parliamentary forces. It will 
 be noticed that the account was not sent in with a view to 
 obtain payment until six years after the siege of Bradford. 
 
 It was to another member of the Lister family that 
 subsequent generations have been indebted in a great measure 
 for an account of the memorable siege of Bradford, namely, 
 Joseph Lister, who was an eye-witness, and whose description 
 Mr. James spoke of as " artless and simple, and bearing 
 internal evidence of its truthfulness." 
 
 Joseph Lister, in his Autobiography, describes himself as 
 having been "born at Bradford, of godly and religious parents, 
 in June, 1627." He would, therefore, be sixteen years old at
 
 Rambles Round Horton. 91 
 
 the period when he was witness of the events which he 
 narrates. At fourteen years he was apprenticed to learn the 
 trade of a clothier with John Sharp, Little Horton, the father 
 of Abraham Sharp, the famous mathematician, residinij at 
 Horton Hall. In 1657 he married Sarah Denton, and had 
 two sons, one of whom, Accepted Lister, was born at Bailey 
 Fold, Allerton, and was minister of Kipping Chapel, Thornton. 
 Both father and son died in 1709, within a few days of each 
 other. 
 
 Some doubt exists as to the parentage of Joseph Lister, 
 the historian of the siege. From the information given in 
 Holroyd's valuable tracts on Bradford history, and notes 
 supplied by Mr. Empsall, we gather that his father was named 
 Edward Lister, who in 161 8 married Sarah Hill, sister of 
 Edward Hill. M.A. The latter gentleman was some time 
 vicar of Huddersfield, and afterwards of Crofton, from whence 
 he was ejected by the Act of Uniformity in 1662. Under 
 the Five-mile Act he afterwards removed to Shibden, near 
 Halifax, preaching, like Oliver Heywood, where he could, and 
 according to Wright, died in 1669, at Shibden Hall. He was 
 the first subscriber to the Vindicice Veritatis in 1648. A 
 " cousin," Edward Hill, is referred to in private memoranda 
 of the Lister family of Overbrea and Shibden Hall, who 
 resided in London, and was son of the Rev. Edward Hill. 
 He was a partner with Samuel Lister, of Shibden, as cloth 
 merchants. Joshua Hill, minister of the chapel at Bramley, 
 was another brother of Sarah Hill. 
 
 It is worthy of note, however, that there was a family of 
 Listers residing at Bolton, who were in intimate relationship 
 with the Listers of Shibden and Horton, and were often 
 referred to in Oliver Heywood's diaries. Is it probable that 
 Joseph Lister, the historian, was of this family } In \'ol. II. 
 
 there is the following entry :— " Lister, of Bolton, near 
 
 Bradford, buried there July 23, 1683, grandfather to ]\Ir. Jo. 
 Lister, preacher, aged eighty." The dates correspond with 
 the statement of Joseph Lister that he was born in 1627. 
 He, however, states that he was born at Bradford, but Bolton 
 is very near to Bradford, or his father might ha\-e removed 
 there.
 
 92 Rainblcs Round Horton. 
 
 Another name is also suggested by a perusal of the 
 Lister pedigree of more than local reputation, namely, that 
 of Sterne. At two periods in the family history relationship 
 was established between the Listers and the Sternes ; from 
 the latter, it may be stated, were descended Richard Sterne, 
 Archbishop of York in 1683, and the Rev. Lawrence Sterne, 
 author of " Tristram Shandy " and " The Sentimental 
 Journey." It may not be generally known that the vivacious 
 author was for some time a pupil at Hipperholme Grammar 
 School, Halifax (see note). In his Autobiography he says: — ■ 
 "In the autumn of that year, 1722 (or the spring afterwards, 
 I forget which), my father got leave of his colonel to fix me 
 at school, which he did near Halifax, with an able master." 
 
 An elaborate record of this family would exhaust more 
 space than can now be afforded. Suffice it at present to state 
 that Simon Sterne, of Woodhouse, near Halifax, left a 
 numerous family, the eldest son being Richard Sterne, who 
 married in 1703 for his first wife Dorothy, relict of Samuel 
 Lister, of Shibden Hall, where, until the death of the said 
 Dorothy, he resided ; and, secondly, Hester, daughter of 
 Timothy Booth, of Halifax ; also a son Roger, the father of 
 the celebrated Lawrence Sterne. Of Richard Sterne's second 
 marriage was, with other issue, Dorothy, married to William 
 Lister, of Shipley, whose daughter, also named Dorothy 
 (evidently a favourite name), married, first, Samuel Lister, 
 of Horton, and secondly, Richard Hodsden, a London 
 gentleman. Their only daughter, Frances, was married to 
 George Carroll, son of George Carroll, gentleman, of county 
 Wicklow. Mr. Carroll, who lived for some time at Horton 
 
 NoTK ON Laurence Sterne. — The accuracy of this statement is questioned 
 by an old pupil of Heath Grammar School, who contends that the latter well-known 
 school, situate on the other side of Halifax, was that to which Sterne was sent. A 
 similar contention is held by another local antiquary. On the other hand we have the 
 testimony of a gentleman near Hipperholme, in whose family is preserved the tradition 
 that Sterne habitually called at the family residence while walking to and from school, 
 and who i)oints out that at the period referred to there certainly was not the "'able 
 master" at Heath alluded to by .Sterne in his Autobiograjihy, while there was at 
 Hipperholme in the person of Nathan Sharp. Tlien we have the evidence rendered in 
 the history of Heath Grammar Scliool, cotni)ile(l by Mr. Cox, a late master, who is of 
 opinion that it was at Hipperholme .School that Sterne received liis education, and not 
 at Heath, although he might have first been .sent there. 
 
 1
 
 Rambles Round H or ton. 93 
 
 House, subsequently removed to Boston Spa, and died in 
 1861. His sons were Coote Alexander, a West Riding 
 magistrate, and high sheriff of county Wicklow in 1862 ; 
 Richard Sterne, a West Riding magistrate, lately deceased ; 
 George Frederick, now living at Boston Spa ; and Francis 
 Rawdon, deceased. 
 
 In concluding this notice of H^orton House it may be 
 stated that the property remained in the hands of the 
 Fitzgeralds until a short time ago, when it was disposed of 
 by public auction.
 
 94 Rambles Round H or ton. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Horton Hall — The Sharp Family— John Sharp, the Parliamentarian— The Rev. Thos. 
 Sharp, M. A.— John Sharp, M.D.— Abraham .Sharp, the Mathematician; his 
 Workshop at Horton Hall — Charles Swain Booth Sharp— Madam Sharp— Mrs. 
 Giles. 
 
 No district in the township of Horton has retained its 
 primitive character more than the neighbourhood of Horton 
 Green ; and probably from this reason there is no more 
 desirable place of residence in the borough of Bradford. 
 Situated at a medium altitude, and lying well open to the 
 western breezes, the line of dwellings fringing the " Green " 
 enjoy an immunity from the evils attendant upon an over- 
 crowded neighbourhood which is possessed by few residential 
 districts, having open fields both to front and rear. It is not 
 to Horton Green and its former residents, however, that this 
 chapter is intended to be devoted, but to the leading family 
 which for hundreds of years has been associated with the 
 locality. In subsequent papers we shall not overlook those 
 of humbler rank and station. 
 
 In a lecture delivered by the late Canon Fawcett, of Low 
 Moor, relating to old Bradford families, the following remark 
 occurs : — " There is scarcely any name associated with the 
 early history of Bradford parish of more real interest than 
 that of the Sharps of Horton." The worthy Canon might 
 have added that none of the several respectable families 
 associated with the township could boast of so continuous a 
 connection with it as the Sharps can. So early as the year 
 1365, as appears from a deed executed at that period, Wm. 
 de Leventhorpe, the then lord of the manor, conveyed to 
 Thos. Sharp two bovates or oxgangs, being as much land as 
 an ox could plough in a year, and a messuage in Little 
 Horton, adjoining to lands belonging to the Abbot of 
 Kirkstall. 
 
 In previous papers reference has been made to the easy 
 payment required of the monastic head of the Abbey of 
 Kirkstall for his holding, namely, the annual presentation to
 
 Rambles Round Hoi' ton. 95 
 
 the lord of the manor of a pair of wliite gilt spurs. Whether 
 the "messuage" referred to occupied the site of Horton Hall, 
 so long associated with the Sharp family, we have no 
 information. From documents dated 1390 evidence exists 
 that two members of the Sharp family had acquired a 
 position entitling them to grants from the surrounding 
 wastes ; for at that period William, the son of Jordan de 
 Bradford, conveyed to John, the son of Thomas Sharp, of 
 Little Horton (probably the Thomas named in the 1365 
 deed), half an acre of land situate in Horton. The second 
 document, dated "Friday, in third v/eek of Lent," 1390, is a 
 
 Grant by feoffment from William de Leventhorp, of the parish of 
 Bradford, to John, son of William, son of Robert de Horton, and 
 
 Thomas, son of [qy. John] Scharpe, of Little Horton, of the Manor 
 
 of Leventhorpe, in Bradforddale. Rent, 5 marks per annum. Witnesses 
 — Geoffrey de Leventliorpe ; William, son of Robert de Horton ; Adam 
 del Apilyerde ; John Mortimer, of Clayton, sen. ; and John Bailey, of 
 AUerton. 
 
 It would thus appear that Thomas Sharp divided the 
 manorship of Leventhorpe with John de Florton, but his 
 possession was not of long continuance, for in the year 1402, 
 according to another deed, 
 
 Thomas, son of John Scharpp, of Little Horton, released to 
 Geoffrey, son of William de Leventhorp, all his right in the manor of 
 Leventhorp, and of all lands in Thornton, in Bradforddale, which he 
 lately had of the gift of the said William. 
 
 In records of the time of Ed. IV. (1461-83) we find the 
 names of John Scharp and Christopher Scharp (son and heir 
 of John; parties to a deed with John HoUins, of Clayton. 
 This Christopher Sharp was assessed in 1520 upon ^^20 in 
 goods (a large amount in those days), and paid los. By his 
 will, dated 1530, he ordered his body to be buried in the 
 " Kirkgarth of SS. Peter and Paul, Bradford." To the " h)-e 
 altar " there " for tythes forgotten," he bequeathed the sum 
 of 3s. 4d. ; to " kyrkwork," 3s. 4d. ; the rest to Alice, his wife. 
 The v/itnesses to tliis will were Sir Thos. Ecop, Sir Tristram 
 Horton, and James Sharp. The titled gentlemen were priests 
 of the "hye-altar of St. Peter" at Bradford, the order to 
 which they belonged not unfrequently officiating as witnesses 
 to the wills of wealthy members of the church.
 
 96 Rambles Round Hortoii, 
 
 As to James Sharp, the last-named witness, considerable 
 interest attaches to his identity from an antiquarian point of 
 view, as upon his connection with the family under notice 
 depends the relationship of Archbishop Sharp with the 
 Horton family of the name. John James remarks upon 
 this point that James Sharp was evidently a near relative, 
 but the exact point of relationship had not been found. The 
 family, however, do not claim descent through the Christopher 
 Sharp named above, but from another Christopher, a man of 
 large property in Horton, whose will was proved in 1543, and 
 to which document the James Sharp just mentioned was also 
 witness. He was probably the Christopher Sharp referred to 
 in the muster roll of the West Riding, as contributing a 
 " horse and harness," the other four being William Feild, 
 Omfray Wood, John Lister, and John Ffourness. 
 
 The establishing of the connection of Archbishop Sharp's 
 family with the Sharps of Horton has engaged the attention 
 of many genealogists, including Courthorpe, Rouge Croix 
 Pursuivant of Arms, and we have, through the courtesy of 
 Mr. F. S. Powell, had the benefit of his researches, the result 
 of which will more appropriately appear in treating of the 
 Archbishop's descent. 
 
 The existence of several branches within one township 
 and the repetition of John, Thomas, and Christopher as 
 Christian names, renders research somewhat perplexing, and 
 of this multiplicity sufficient evidence exists. In 1606, from 
 the copy of a deed before us, it appears that " Christopher 
 Sharp, of Horton, clothier, gives and grants to Samuel Sharp, 
 his son, one close called Nether Moor Close, containing one 
 acre, which he purchased of Thomas Hodgson, Thomas 
 Sharp, Robert Booth, and William Feild (and which was 
 evidently a portion of the waste land conveyed in 1589 from 
 the Lacy family to the persons named in the deed) — Signed 
 — Thomas Sharp, John Hillhouse, Thomas Butterfield, and 
 by me Thomas Sharp, the writer " — the latter being evidently 
 a lawyer. 
 
 In the Subsidy Roll of May, 1608, Thomas Sharp, sen. 
 and jun„ and John Sharp are each assessed for lands at 20s., 
 and pay upon that assessment 2s. 8d, We have also an
 
 Rambles Round H or ton. 97 
 
 indenture before us made between Alice Sharp, of Schole- 
 moor, late wife of Thomas Sharp, and others. The 
 Scholemoor Sharps were somewhat influential at that period. 
 Coming to more recent times we may close our extracts from 
 taxation rolls by quoting from the land and property tax for 
 Horton of the year 1704, laid at 4s. in the pound, in which 
 Mrs. Sharp appears as a contributor to the extent of 
 £4. 17s. 6d., and Isaac Sharp for ^3 iis. 3d. These 
 individuals represented the two main branches into which the 
 family had become divided, and which now centre in Mr. 
 Francis Sharp Powell, the present representative of the 
 Sharps of Horton. 
 
 As just intimated, the Sharp family were in two 
 branches, the partition taking place upwards of 200 years 
 ago, when Horton Old Hall (the residence of Mr. F. S. 
 Powell) was built for the younger branch. Horton Hall, the 
 adjoining residence, was the home of the elder branch, 
 associated in recent times with the names of Madam Sharp 
 and Mrs. Giles, and more recently with that of Mr. Hailstone. 
 The two branches were of different religious and political 
 tendencies — the elder branch being staunch Parliamentarians 
 and Puritans ; while the younger were Royalists and 
 Episcopalians. Following the dictates both of convenience 
 and propriety, we may therefore first make reference to 
 Horton Hall and its former owners and occupants. 
 
 The Sharps, like most of the yeomen of these parts, 
 combined the trade of clothier with that of cultivator of the 
 soil. The result of this arrangement may be observed in the 
 construction of residences of the period, which as a rule were 
 roomy and substantially built, providing accommodation in 
 the "house-body" or in an upper chamber for several pairs of 
 rude wooden looms, the preparatory processes being managed 
 by the women or young people of the family, while the male 
 members alternately plied the loom and engaged in field 
 work, as occasion demanded. 
 
 To this class we assume Thomas Sharp, whose will was 
 
 dated 1607, to have belonged. He was the son of John Sharp 
 
 (from whom also sprang the Sharps of Tong), whose father 
 
 was the Christopher previously referred to as having died 
 
 G
 
 98 Rambles Round Horton. 
 
 in 1 543, and who was a man of considerable means. Thomas 
 Sharp profited by his inheritance, his father leaving him " one 
 thing of the best of every kind of vessel accustomed to be 
 ' occupied ' at his house at Horton." By indenture dated 
 1589, he, with Thomas Hodgson, of Boiling, Robert Booth 
 and William Feild, of Horton, had conveyed to them from 
 Richard Lacy 250 acres of the unenclosed wastes of Horton 
 and fourteen acres lately enclosed. By another indenture he 
 purchased from Thomas Hodgson, of Bowling, a close called 
 Bowling Mill Close for ;^88. In conjunction with his son 
 John he also added to the estate South Croft, Leysteads, and 
 Hollingreave land. 
 
 It was from this Thomas Sharp there sprang two sons, 
 Thomas and John, who became the founders of the two main 
 branches of the Sharp family. John, the younger brother, 
 was a distinguished Royalist, having been in several battles 
 on the side of Charles I., and who never suffered his beard to 
 be shaved after his Royal master's execution at Whitehall. 
 In 1629 he added to the Horton estate Kent Close, and 
 purchased other land from Thomas Wood and Henry Walker, 
 of Bradford. To his line, however, we must refer subse- 
 quently. His elder brother Thomas, who died in 1636, was 
 the father of John Sharp, the noted Parliamentarian, having 
 been born in 1604. He married Mary, the daughter of 
 Robert Clarkson, of Fairgap, Bradford, and among their nine 
 children were the Rev. Thomas Sharp, once vicar of Adel, 
 and afterwards an ardent Nonconformist, and Abraham 
 Sharp, the mathematician. 
 
 John Sharp, the Parliamentarian, was undoubtedly a 
 prominent character during the Civil Wars. He was also a 
 clothier, reference having b?cn previously made to him in 
 that capacity as the master of Joseph Lister, the historian of 
 the siege of Bradford ; but in all probability he was a 
 merchant as well as manufacturer. His educational training, 
 however, must have been above the average of the craft to 
 which he belonged, as is evidenced by documents prepared by 
 him still extant. His sympathies were strongly on the side 
 of Parliament during the fierce struggle which prevailed during 
 the Civil Wars, the results of which were apparent in the
 
 Rambles Round Hortou. 99 
 
 partial sacking of Bradford town. After the battle of 
 Adwalton Moor and the siege of Bradford he followed the 
 fortunes of General Fairfax, and was present at the engage- 
 ments at Nantvvich and Marston Moor. John Sharp, indeed, 
 seems to have acted as private secretary to General Fairfax 
 during the western campaign, evidence of which is furnished 
 by a relic now in the possession of Mr. Hailstone, of Walton 
 Hall. For his services he was presented by Parliament with 
 a gold medal, having a figure of Fairfax on the obverse ; 
 round the rim of the reverse " Post hac meliora " ; and in 
 the centre the word " Meruisti." Besides his other duties 
 John Sharp was the receiver of the rectorial tithes of Brad- 
 ford parish for Sir John Maynard, and generally occupied 
 a position of influence in the neighbourhood. He died 
 respected by all his neighbours in 1672, the inventory of 
 his possessions showing him to have acquired considerable 
 wealth during his lifetime. 
 
 John Sharp by his will left his house and lands to his 
 eldest son, the Rev. Thomas Sharp, brother of Abraham the 
 mathem.atician, who rebuilt Horton Hall from a plan now in 
 Mr. Powell's possession, which shows how he used up the 
 timbers of the house then existing for the larger and more 
 pretentious residence. Towards the close of 1675 he prepared 
 an agreement with Nathan Sharp, of Wike, mason, for the 
 building of " one piece of housing adjoining the now dwelling- 
 house of Thomas Sharp, about 18 yds. or 19 yds. in length, 
 7j yds. in breadth, and about ^\ yds. in height, at the square, 
 and to pay for the same £a^6'' (a very modest sum as building 
 is now computed). 
 
 An inspection of this interesting relic of old Bradford 
 shows the original building to have been comoletelv encom- 
 passed by the newer erection, the ancient timber-built walls, 
 once outside, being plainly visible now within the buildin?. 
 The old erection, judging by its appearance, seems to have 
 been six " crooks " in length, a " crook " representing the 
 span of the original roof timbers. The entrance-hall on the 
 north side of the building is low and quaint in appearance, 
 showing the ancient timber supports of very substantial 
 character.
 
 100 Rambles Round Horton. 
 
 The original entrance was by an arched doorway, the 
 arms of the Sharps being thereon. There was a courtyard, 
 having on one side the blank wall of some outbuildings, 
 and another courtyard, which were thrown together by Mr. 
 Edward Hailstone to form one large court. The panelling on 
 the north side of the hall has been brought forward. The 
 space to the back, where a pillar was put up by Mr. Hailstone 
 to support the ceiling, was originally two rooms, with a pas- 
 sage between, and there were folding-doors, one towards the 
 hall, and the other the library. One space was called the 
 " Tinello," the Italian expression for " servants' hall." The 
 reception-rooms contained good work in oak, the wall 
 decoration and ceiling reliefs being evidently of later date 
 than 1680, the period when the old mansion was completed 
 by Thomas Sharp. 
 
 A quaint and picturesque appearance is given to the 
 frontage on the south side by the projecting porch, forming 
 the base of a square tower. This formed part of the original 
 structure, and was used by Abraham Sharp for his observatory, 
 from whence his observations of the heavens were taken. 
 The room known as Abraham Sharp's study had an internal 
 railing, with a door and slide window, through which, it was 
 said, meals were served to him while engaged in his studies. 
 The railing was some years ago taken down to fit the room 
 for use. The chamber over the washhouse outside was his 
 workshop, and in the window are the original pieces of wood 
 to which Sharp's lathe was attached. The sketch given of 
 Horton Hall shows the observatory tower used by Abraham 
 Sharp. A wing to the right has given place to a handsome 
 modern residence. 
 
 This house, so famous for many stirring and interesting 
 associations, was early resorted to by the Nonconformists of 
 the period as a place of worship. A large room on the 
 ground floor, afterwards used by Mr. Hailstone for a portion 
 of his library, was licensed in 1672 by the Rev. Thomas 
 Sharp, Abraham's elder brother, for preaching therein, and on 
 the inside of the capacious window are scratched by his hand 
 the initials T. S. During the occupancy of his father, John 
 Sharp, the Parliamentarian, Horton Hall was frequently
 
 Horton Hall. 
 
 I!.v li s <& Sous, Zincos.
 
 Rambles Round Hovton. loi 
 
 resorted to by Oliver Heywood, in whose diaries there are 
 frequent references to the visits paid by him. Two only must 
 suffice : — 
 
 Decern. 3, 1666, went to Mr. John Sharpes at Little Horton, where 
 j\Ir. Sharpe having appointed a meetino- where he was to preach they put 
 me upon that work in his roome. 
 
 Mar. 5, 1671, I was called to keep a private fast at Mr. Sharpe's in 
 Little Horton. Much of the day was spent before I could get my hand 
 to the work, worldly thoughts much prevailing, jjut afterwards while 
 Joseph Lister was at prayer my heart was wonderfully melted and kept 
 in a wonderful sweet frame. 
 
 The Joseph Lister referred to was doubtless the man who had 
 served his apprenticeship to John Sharp, and was now on 
 terms of Christian friendship with the family. 
 
 Thomas Sharp, who succeeded to the Horton estates 
 upon the death of his father in 1672, received his education 
 at the Bradford Grammar School, then a notable nursery of 
 learning, and in 1649 entered Clare Hall, Cambridge, and 
 became an excellent classical scholar and mathematician, 
 acquiring the degree of Master of Arts. Entering holy 
 orders in 1660, he afterwards became vicar of Adel, near 
 Leeds. Calamy says — " He enjoyed the living only for a 
 little while, for upon the Restoration, Dr. Hick, of Guiseley, 
 challenged it as his." Mr. Sharp hereupon resigned, and 
 could have had other preferment but for the Act of 
 Uniformity, whereby he was silenced. He retired to his 
 father's house at Horton, and married a daughter of Mr. 
 Bagnall. 
 
 Upon the death of his father in 1672 the Rev. Thomas 
 Sharp procured the licence for worship at Horton Hall, and 
 there exercised the ministry with great acceptance to a large 
 number of persons of like religious views with himself His 
 first wife dying he married Faith, a daughter of the Rev. 
 James Sale, of Pudsev, b\- whom he had several children. 
 He afterwards accepted the pastorate of the Independent 
 Chapel at Morley, and subsequently that of Mill Hill Chapel, 
 Leeds, where he removed, meanwhile continuing his house at 
 Horton. He died at Leeds in 1693, leaving his widow, and a 
 son and two daughters, viz., Dr. John Sharp ; Elizabeth, who
 
 102 
 
 Rambles Round Horton. 
 
 married Robert Stansfield, a drysalter,and whose son, Robert 
 by a second marriage, became owner by purchase of the 
 Esholt estates ; and a daughter who died young. 
 "*■ Dr. John Sharp was a man of great promise, but died at 
 a premature age. He was born in 1674, and at twenty-three 
 years of age proceeded to study physic at Leyden, as appears 
 from a memorandum book in the possession of Mr. Powell. 
 From this interesting relic we glean particulars of his journey 
 to Holland, the outfit required for a medical student of his 
 time, and other particulars. Thus, under date of 1697, we 
 find the items : — 
 
 
 I 
 
 s. 
 
 d. 
 
 Passing from Rotterdam to Leyden . 
 
 6 
 
 -^ 
 
 J 
 
 
 
 Porter 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 Weekly reckoning 
 
 -1 
 
 J 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 Sword belt 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 Buckles 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 4 
 
 Scissors Case 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 4 
 
 Pencil 
 
 
 
 
 
 4 
 
 Scissors 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 Wafers 
 
 
 
 
 
 6 
 
 A quire of Paper 
 
 
 
 
 
 6 
 
 Snuff-box and Snuff 
 
 ... 
 
 n 
 
 >-} - 
 
 Wax Candles 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Quills 
 
 ..0 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 Spent at the Anatomy Class 
 
 
 
 4 
 
 
 
 To the Rector, for Matriculation... 
 
 I 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 Weekly reckoning 
 
 J 
 
 4 
 
 
 
 Wash gloves 
 
 ... 
 
 15 
 
 
 
 Teapot 
 
 ... 
 
 3 
 
 -> 
 
 Handkerchiefs 
 
 I 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 The date of his matriculation was the year 1699, when 
 he was twenty-five years of age, as appears from entries in 
 the memorandum book as follows, he having prior to that 
 event made a journey to England : — 
 
 1699. — Tuesday, 7th of 6th, at 3 ok, set sayle from Hull towards 
 Rotterdam. Staid at anchor 2 leagues from land. 
 
 Wednesday, at 4 o'clock, weighed anchor with wind S.W. 
 
 Under date 22nd October, 1699, '•'' the form of his 
 matriculation. Dr. John Sharp died in 1704, aged thirty 
 years, f
 
 Rambles Round H or ton. 103 
 
 By his decease, Horton Hall became the property and 
 residence of Abraham, the second son of John Sharp, the 
 Parliamentarian. This distinguished man was born at Horton 
 in 1 65 1, in the building still associated with his name. He 
 received his education at the Bradford Grammar School, 
 which had been the seminary of his distinguished relative, 
 Archbishop Sharp, Dr. Richardson, of Bierley, and others. 
 The story oi his life has been oft repeated, and but a brief 
 reference need now be made. On leaving school he was 
 bound apprentice to a mercer at York ; but his mind was 
 averse to trading, and his indentures were " broken " in order 
 that he might give himself to scientific pursuits. At first he 
 resided near Liverpool, but appears to have gone to London 
 when nineteen years of age, in the position of bookkeeper 
 to a merchant, and it was while filling this situation that 
 he contracted a friendship with Flamsteed, the astronomer, 
 who secured him as his assistant at Greenwich Observatory, 
 then recently erected. At twenty-four years of age Abraham 
 had made such progress in astronomical science that it is 
 said he had constructed or regulated all the instruments 
 used in the famous Greenwich Observatory. Li 1694 be 
 returned to Horton. During this period of nearly a quarter 
 of a century he appears to have kept entries of every 
 half-penny he expended, as is shown by memorandum books 
 to which, through Mr. Powell's courtesy, we have had access, 
 and this methodical habit he kept up after his return to 
 Horton, and probably until his death at over ninety years of 
 age. Unfortunately many of the celebrated mathematician's 
 papers and astronomical memoranda and calculations have 
 been destroyed, some being only thought fit for lighting fires, 
 and hence it is doubtful whether the life-story of a very 
 remarkable Hortonian is now available. 
 
 The handwriting in such memorandum books as have 
 been preserved is of the most minute character, requiring the 
 aid of a magnifying glass to thoroughly decipher the contents. 
 In them we find many curious entries ; mathematical calcula- 
 tions, entries relating to purchase of material for making 
 scientific instruments, books, articles of wearing apparel, cost 
 of living, &c., all mixed up together in the order apparently
 
 104 
 
 Rambles Round Horton. 
 
 in which they were expended. Thus, under date of the year 
 1685, we cull the following items : — 
 
 
 JL 
 
 s. 
 
 d. 
 
 Boat hire to Greenwich 
 
 ... 
 
 ■-> 
 
 
 
 Phil. Transactions 
 
 2 
 
 9 
 
 
 
 Pd. for tying cravats 
 
 ... 
 
 I 
 
 5 
 
 Washing gd., spent 6d 
 
 ... 
 
 I 
 
 -1 
 
 
 
 Pd. for 12 doz. hair buttons 
 
 ... 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 4 yds. Shalloon 
 
 ... 
 
 15 
 
 
 
 Pd. for Transactions 
 
 ... 
 
 18 
 
 
 
 A letter 
 
 ... 
 
 
 
 8 
 
 Pair of Stockings 
 
 ... 
 
 4 
 
 6 
 
 Brass wyer 
 
 ... 
 
 3 
 
 9 
 
 Conquest of China 
 
 ... 
 
 I 
 
 6 
 
 Dressing hat 
 
 ... 
 
 
 
 6 
 
 A dictionary 
 
 ... 
 
 I 
 
 6 
 
 Lens 
 
 ... 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 A pair of brass Compasses 
 
 ... 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 3 Ground Wheels 
 
 ... 
 
 3 
 
 6 
 
 Boat hire to Greenwich 
 
 ... 
 
 1 
 
 -> 
 
 J 
 
 Gellibrand's Trigonometry 
 
 ... 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 Ink horn 
 
 ... 
 
 
 
 4 
 
 4 glasses for a six-foot 
 
 ... 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 Pratts' Architecture 
 
 ... 
 
 6 
 
 6 
 
 Paid for a hone 
 
 ... 
 
 I 
 
 6 
 
 Pd. for Arcad. Princ 
 
 ... 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 Clear Varnish — 6 bottles 
 
 ... 
 
 --> 
 
 7 
 
 2 pieces Lignum Vitae 
 
 I 
 
 18 
 
 
 
 2 rolls of brass wyre. 271b. 50Z., at i8d. 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 6 
 
 Gloves and tying cravat 
 
 ... 
 
 5 
 
 6 
 
 Gold Thread 
 
 ... 
 
 
 
 8 
 
 Loadstone • 
 
 ... 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 There are many other item.s relating to personal expenses, 
 cost of living, &c. 
 
 Abraham Sharp returned to Little Horton in 1694, 
 shortly after the death of his elder brother Thomas, and 
 never left it afterwards for any lengthened period. He never 
 married, but devoted his life to the study of astronomical 
 subjects. His workshop was fitted with every description of 
 astronomical instruments, all made by his own hands, a list of 
 which made at his death, and the valuation, together with 
 some of his account books, are in Mr. Hailstone's possession, 
 as also his walking-stick, fitted with glasses as a telescope.
 
 Rambles Round Hoy ton. 105 
 
 There is also a fine orrery in the museum at York, made by 
 Abraham Sharp. His communications with Flamsteed were 
 kept up at Horton, as is evidenced by the mention made of 
 postage of letters from the great astronomer. 
 
 Mr. Sharp was very irregular at his meals, and remark- 
 ably sparing in his habits. A little square hole, something 
 like a window, afforded communication between the room 
 where he was generally employed in calculations, and another 
 chamber or room in the house where a servant could enter, 
 and before the hole he contrived a slide. The servant always 
 placed his victuals, without speaking or making the least noise, 
 and when he had a little leisure time he visited his cupboard 
 to see what it afforded to satisfy his hunger and thirst. But 
 it often happened that the breakfast, dinner, and supper 
 remained untouched by him, and when the servant went 
 to remove what was left the philosopher was found to hav^e 
 been so deeply engaged in his calculations that he had quite 
 forgotten all about his meals. Mr. Sharp is said to have been 
 " one of the most accurate computors ever known." It is to 
 be regretted, however, that he devoted his talents to such futile 
 efforts as " squaring the circle," constructing logarithms to 
 sixty -one y^X'A.CQ'i^ of decimals, &c., instead of more practical work. 
 
 It is said that he lived the life of a recluse, rarelv holdin<jf 
 communication with any one. Two friends, however, had the 
 privilege of his acquaintance, namely. Dr. Swaine, of Hall 
 Ings, and a Mr. Dawson, who were admitted by the signal of 
 rubbing a stone against a certain part of the outside of his 
 rooms. Abraham Sharp attended the Presbyterian Chapel 
 at Bradford, of which he was a member, and every Sunday 
 he took care to be provided with plenty of halfpence, which 
 he very charitably suffered to be taken out of his hand, 
 held behind him during his walk to the chapel, b\- the poor 
 people who followed. He never looked back or asked a 
 single question. 
 
 Whatever the nature of his scientific studies, astronomical 
 and mathematical, Abraham Sharp evidently kept a close eye 
 upon the management of his estate and his hou.sehold expenses, 
 as is evidenced by the minute accounts he kept of every item 
 of receipts and expenditure. Thus in the year 1710, under
 
 106 Rambles Round Horton. 
 
 dates June, July, and September, we find such items as the 
 following : — 
 
 I s. d. 
 Pd. TiioS; Myers for making my black coat ... o 3 6 
 Ben Bartlett for dressing sister's leg, and 
 
 salve o 2 o 
 
 Robert Stansfield to be laid out for funeral exs. 3800 
 
 Registering Sister's Will o 5 8 
 
 At Chapel for cjuarter which sister left o 10 o 
 
 David Rodcs for shearing, 7 days o 3 6 
 
 For a load of wheat o 15 6 
 
 And under date 17 12, the following details : — 
 
 Paid Land tax for Brecon Hill o 19 3 
 
 Land tax for Ferrand Close 013 4 
 
 \-\\\ Land tax for Shibden Hall land and 
 
 Howgate Farm i 8 4 
 
 Earl Warren's rent for Shibden Hall (land)... 080 
 
 Lord's rents for land in Sowerby o 6 9 
 
 Uncle Abm. .Sharp's interest 20 o o 
 
 Abm. Jewett i^ year for window tax i 10 o 
 
 Wm. Raper, for monument in Church 11 15 o 
 
 8 load of lyme and leading stones for balcony 080 
 
 Joseph Carr, for plastering 8 yards o 8 o 
 
 8 stroak hair to Mr. Swain o 2 8 
 
 100 slates to John Booth, and leading o 6 6 
 
 Wm. Ellis for his work 013 o 
 
 On the other side of the account for the last-named year 
 we obtain some insight into the sources of Abraham Sharp's 
 income, as follows : — 
 
 Rd. of John Horton for trees 
 
 Jos. Stansfield for his father's Whit-rents 
 Jos. Stansfield for Higher End rents ... 
 
 Rd. Ingham for Pudsey Mart 
 
 Henry Atkinson for a calf 
 
 Robt. Myers last ^ yr.'s rent 
 
 John Dobson, h yr.'s rent 
 
 Thos. Craven, ^ yr.'s rent 
 
 John Burrow, \ yr.'s 
 
 Abr. Sharp board, one year ^8 o 
 
 For Near and Far Langsides, whole year 
 
 .■\bm. Firth, h yr.'s rent 
 
 P'or a red cow and calf 
 
 Of uncle Josiah for a red cow and calf... 
 Of Abm. Jewett for blind horse " Hugh " 
 
 I 
 
 s. 
 
 d. 
 
 
 
 9 
 
 8 
 
 6 
 
 8 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 II 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 •5 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 1 1 
 
 6 
 
 I 
 
 •7 
 
 2 
 
 4 
 
 12 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 18 
 
 
 
 10 
 
 13 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 4 
 
 6 
 
 5 
 
 7 
 
 6 
 
 5 
 
 16 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 

 
 Rambles Round Hoyton. 107 
 
 The total income for the year 17 12, as shown in tlie account, 
 is i^205 13s. od. 
 
 Notwithstanding his irregular habits, night watches, and 
 laborious studies, Abraham Sharp lived to reach the 91st 
 year of his age, and died in July, 1742. There is a monument 
 to his memory in the chancel of Bradford Parish Church. 
 In his will he bequeathed a house to the minister of the 
 *' Dissenters' Meeting Chapel, Bradford." 
 
 Abraham Sharp having died a bachelor, the Horton 
 estates of his branch of the family were enjoyed by his 
 grandniece Faith, the daughter of Robert Stansfield, the 
 latter having married Abraham's niece Elizabeth. There 
 were six sons and two daughters of this marriage, but only 
 Faith survived. She married, in 1722, Richard Gilpin 
 Sawrey, of Horton, a magistrate, and died in 1767 without 
 issue, this branch of the Sharp family therefore ending with 
 her death. By her will Mrs. Sawrey • bequeathed to 
 Hannah Gilpin, the daughter of William Gilpin, formerly 
 of Whitehaven, and then residing with her, the mansion at 
 Horton wherein she dwelt, with all her other messuages situate 
 in Bradford, Great and Little Horton, Burley, Wheatley, 
 Guiseley, and Farsley, &c. Hannah Gilpin took the name 
 of Sharp, and in 1769, two years after coming to the Horton 
 estates, entered into matrimony with Mr. Charles Swaine 
 Booth, the son of the Rev. Charles Booth, of Bradford. 
 
 Reference has previously been made to the influential 
 family of Swaine, of Horton. The family had also a 
 Bradford branch, which occupied a good house standing at 
 one time in Hall Tngs. Here Dr. Swaine resided, and here, 
 according to an extract from the Halifax Jounia/ of April, 
 1759, there died a Miss Swaine, "whose virtue and charity 
 made her death greatly lamented." She left her property to 
 her nephew, Charles Booth, barrister-at-Iaw, who hereupon 
 added the name of Swaine to his own, which was that of a 
 family of considerable standing in Horton so far back as 
 1608. His father, the Rev. Charles Booth, married a daughter 
 of Mr. William Swaine, of Bradford, whose monument is in 
 Bradford Parish Church. Charles Swaine Booth therefore 
 acquired the property of both the Bradford Swaines and the
 
 108 Rambles Rotmd Horton. 
 
 Booths. Swaine Street was named after him. By his 
 marriage with Hannah Gilpin Sharp he acquired further 
 property and influence, and in compHment to his wife added 
 the name of Sharp, and for many years resided at Horton 
 Hall. During his Hfetime the new portion now fronting to 
 Horton Lane was added, a wing of the old residence built by 
 the Rev. Thomas Sharp being removed for the purpose. 
 
 Charles Swaine Booth Sharp died without issue in 1805, 
 leaving his widow, Hannah Gilpin, or better known as 
 Madam Sharp. He left the property coming to him from 
 the Swaines and the Booths, after bequeathing certain legacies 
 and confirming the settlement made upon his marriage, to his 
 sisters, Beatrix Rishton, widow, and Sarah Booth, widow, and 
 after them to his nephew, the Rev. Godfrey Wright, of Hooton 
 Pagnall, and his heirs. His widow, Mrs. Hannah Gilpin 
 Sharp, died in May, 1823. 
 
 By her will' Madam Sharp bequeathed the mansion at 
 Horton, with all her estates in Bradford and elsewhere, to her 
 nephew, Captain Thomas Gilpin, and his male heirs, and in 
 default of issue to her niece, Ann Kitchen, widow of Major 
 Kitchen, in the service of the East India Company, and her 
 heirs ; and in default to the daughters of Captain Gilpin, 
 conditionally upon their residing at Horton. Captain Gilpin, 
 after enjoying the estates three years only, died at Madeira in 
 the year 1826, without having been married, whereupon Ann 
 Kitchen came to the property, and married in 1828 Mr. 
 Edward Giles, a clerk in Somerset House, for her second 
 husband, who died in 1832, leaving an infant son, Edmund, 
 heir to the Horton estates. 
 
 This son Edmund went to Australia, being enamoured of 
 sea life, but never returned, as he only lived three days after 
 landing in the far-off colony. He was twenty-five years of 
 age. Mrs. Haines, of London, then came into possession, she 
 being the daughter of Mrs. Giles by her first marriage. In 
 1839 an Act was passed for disposing of the Giles estate at 
 Horton, owing to the great increase of buildings and 
 manufactories in the immediate vicinity. The property 
 extended over many portions of Horton, including that 
 fringing both sides of Horton Lane, where it was intersected
 
 Rtmibles Round Horfon. 109 
 
 by the estate of Colonel Fitzgerald, formerly belonging to 
 Samuel Lister. 
 
 The next tenant of Horton Hall was Mr. John Wood, 
 the philanthropic manufacturer, and after him Mr. Samuel 
 Hailstone, attorney. Mrs. Giles, however, had a portion of 
 Horton Hall reserved for her own residence after Mr. 
 Hailstone took it, and resided there a short time every year. 
 Joshua Smith, an old servant of Madam Sharp, was the 
 caretaker. The occupancy of the hall was continued by Mr. 
 Edward Hailstone, after the death of his father, until his 
 removal to Walton Hall in 1870, and it is now the residence 
 of Mr. Ezra Waugh Hammond. 
 
 Horton Hall and grounds were bought by Mr. F. S. 
 Powell in 187 1 from Giles's trustees, and again form part 
 of the Sharp estate.
 
 110 Rai/fb/es Ron ml Morton. 
 
 C HAPTE R X. 
 
 Horton Old Hall— The Sharp Family — Their Ancient Possessions— John Sharp, the 
 Royalist— Lieutenant Isaac Sliarp— The Stapletons — The Bridges — The Powells — 
 Francis Sharp Powell. 
 
 Continuing our notice of the Sharp family of Horton, 
 we now refer to the younger branch, whose seat for probably 
 250 }'ears has been that known as Horton Old Hall, the 
 residence of Mr. Francis Sharp Powell. 
 
 In tracing Mr. Powell's descent as a representative of 
 the Sharp family, we are materially assisted by the Sharp 
 pedigree, drawn for Mr. Powell by Mr. Courthorpe, of the 
 College of Arms. That pedigree is rendered very complete 
 from the time of Christopher Sharp, of Horton, who died a 
 Rom.an Catholic, in 1543. He left a son John, lather of 
 Thomas Sharp, who died in 1607, and was the immediate 
 progenitor of the stock from whence sprang the two main 
 branches of the Sharp family of Horton. 
 
 In a previous article we quoted from documents showing 
 a Thomas and a John Sharp to have been parties to transfers 
 of land in Horton in the years 1365 and 1390. In the 
 absence of registers of the period it may not be possible 
 to connect the Sharps just referred to with Christopher 
 Sharp, who died in 1543, but from the continuous occurrence 
 of the name of Sharp as follows, viz. : — 1390, Thomas ; 
 1402, Thomas; 1461, John; 14CS3. Christopher; and 1530, 
 Christopher — it may reasonably be assumed that the 
 Christopher above named was a member of the family 
 whose history we are tracing, and that the family had a 
 common origin. 
 
 Thomas Sharp, who died in 1607, was evidently a man 
 of considerable means. He is described as a yeoman and 
 clothier. In October of 1589 he had conveyed to him, along 
 with Thomas Hodgson, Robert Booth, and Wm. Feild, 250 
 acres of the unenclosed wastes at Horton, and fourteen acres 
 lately enclosed, by Richard Lacy and John, his son. These 
 Lacies were of the Cromwellbotham family of that name, and
 
 Rambles Rom id H or ton. iii 
 
 were lords of the manor of Horton, havin_<^ acquired the 
 Leventhorpe interest in the manor by marriage. Thos. Sharp 
 also added considerably to the estate left him by his father — 
 which comprised " one thing of the best of any kind of 
 vessel accustomed to be 'occupied ' in his house at Horton " 
 — by purchasing various portions of the landed property in 
 Horton held by the family of Wood. Mr. John James, in 
 his account of the Horton families of an early period, stated 
 that John Sharp, the father of Thomas, was assessed in 1545 
 upon ;^20 value in goods, " which was the only assessment to 
 that amount in Horton, except that on Humphrey Wood, 
 who paid the same," and that in the assessment of 1552 he 
 was assessed for ^16 in goods, "the largest assessment in 
 Horton, except that of Thomas Wood, who was charged the 
 same." 
 
 Through the courtesy of Mr. Powell we have had access 
 to many ancient deeds showing the large extent of land held 
 by the Wood family in Horton at one time, which was 
 without doubt acquired from the Lacies of Cromwellbotham, 
 as Rosamund, the wife of Thomas Wood, was a daughter of 
 John Lacy, living in 1558. We have before us a copy of 
 feoffment, dated 1558, from "John Lacy and Richard his son 
 to Thos. Woode and Rosamund his wife of one messuage and 
 five oxgangs of land in Little Horton, at the yearly rent of 
 £2 13s. 4d., payable at Pentecost and Martinmas." In 1591 
 a friendly suit was instituted, wherein Th.omas Wood and 
 Rosamund his wife were plaintiffs, and John Lacy defendant, 
 in respect to " one messuage, six crofts, two gardens, sixty 
 acres of land, forty acres of meadow, and forty acres of 
 pasture in Horton." In 1572 John Lacy, of Leventhorpe, 
 conveyed to Thos. Wood " three parcels of land lately taken 
 from the waste, rendering knights service, suit of court at 
 Horton, and an annual rent of one red rose." 
 
 Other examples might be given furnishing testimony to 
 the standing of the Wood family in Horton at the period 
 referred to ; it ma)', however, be equally interesting to note 
 how and to whom their estates became transferred, for it is 
 certain that the family has been of no repute in the township 
 for more than two centuries.
 
 112 Rambles Round H or ton. 
 
 It was about the close of the sixteenth century, then, 
 that for some cause the Woods disposed of their Horton 
 lands, as about that period numerous conveyances are dated, 
 a few examples of which may be given : — 
 
 1592. — Indenture made 8th day of January, between Thos. Wood, 
 of Askwith, yeoman, Rosamund, his wife, and John Wood, son and heir 
 apparent, on the one part, and Jasper Brighthouse, or Brighouse, of 
 Bradford, yeoman, of the other part, whereby, in consideration of the 
 sum of threescore and ten pounds of lawful English money paid to them 
 by the said Jasper Brighthouse, the said Thomas, Rosamund, and John 
 Wood convey to him all those three closes of land called the Hollingreave 
 lands, alias Spittle Roods, Cross Butts, and Souther Half-acres, situate 
 and being in Horton in Bradford-dale, now in the tenure of the said 
 Jasper Brighthouse, &c. 
 
 Witnesses — William Hallsteade, John Lacie, Henry Packet, Samuel 
 Tailer, William Currer, Thomas Taller, attorney, 
 
 1601. — Conveyance from Thomas Wood and his wife Rosamund to 
 Thomas Sharp, sen., and John, his son, of a messuage with outbuildings 
 (in three tenements), lands, &c., all in Horton, in the tenure of Richard 
 Booth, Robert Balme, and William Booth (except three closes called the 
 Langside), and also of the two Southcrofts, Ackers, Leysteads, and 
 Northcroft, and of several yearly rents as follows : — viz., 30s. and a boyne 
 hen out of a cottage and lands at Haycliffe ; another of I2d. out of 
 Hollingreave Lands ; another out of a close called Broad-dole ; and 
 another out of a close called Huetson Yeard, alias Hutcheon Yeard, all 
 in Horton. 
 
 Other deeds might be cited showing transfers from 
 Thomas Wood and his wife about the same period, thus : In 
 1592, conveyance of the Intack Close and a close called Two 
 Lands, to Thos. Hunter; 1601, conveyance of messuage in 
 Horton and close of land called the Bent, to Chris. Sharp 
 and Samuel his son ; 1601, conveyance of three closes of land 
 called Far Langsides to Robert Heaton. 
 
 In endeavouring to trace the various properties alluded 
 to. documentary evidence is afforded that nearly the whole 
 passed into the hands of the Thomas Sharp named above, 
 confirming the statement that he was a man of considerable 
 means. Thus in 1606, John Sharp, his son and heir, 
 contemplated marriage with Susan, a daughter of Richard 
 Waterhouse, of Shelf. In consideration of that marriage, 
 Thomas Sharp re-leased to his son, by indenture dated 
 June 15, 1606, "all the messuage, lands, &c., purchased by
 
 Rambles Round Horton. 113 
 
 him of Thomas Wood, of Askwith, and of John Wood, his 
 son and heir. Also all that close called the Intack, or Bowling 
 Mill close, late in the tenure of William Law, and purchased 
 by Thomas Sharp of Thomas Hodgson, late of Boiling, 
 deceased ; also the Hollingreave lands, and the third part of 
 a close called the Haycliffe, and in a place called Nethermore; 
 and also the third part of a close of land lately enclosed from 
 the common of Horton on the north and east side of a hill 
 called Haycliffe, and in a place called Over Moor." On his 
 part Richard Waterhouse, the father of the intended bride, 
 agreed to assign to John Sharp, his intended son-in-law, "all 
 that messuage in Shelf wherein he dwelt," also the sum of 
 ^^"150, &c., upon the consummation of the marriage. The 
 attorney who drew up the necessary documents was Abraham 
 Lister, of Boiling. Thomas Sharp had already made over to 
 his son the two Southcrofts, the Northcroft, the Ackers, the 
 Leysteads, and the Southern Half-acres, all in Horton. 
 
 The frequent references to enclosures made from the 
 "wastes" of Horton afford good ground for fixing the date 
 when the main portion of the township was common land, 
 and the recurrence of terms like the " Two Lands," " Broad- 
 dole," " Cross Butts," " Southern Half-acres," &c., is equally 
 suggestive of a period prior to the age of enclosures, when 
 such lands were held in common, i.e., " Common Fields." 
 These common fields were generally of three descriptions, for 
 the unvarying round of growing winter corn, spring corn, 
 and fallow. They were respectively divided into oxgangs, 
 evenly scattered over every field, in order to give more 
 facility for the system of ploughing then in vogue, and 
 for other desirable purposes. There was likewise the 
 common meadow, while other portions of the township were 
 laid out in pasture, as an appendant to the common field 
 land, each oxgang having a right to a limited number of 
 " gates " for cows and working oxen. The " Common Fields " 
 were distributed over the township. Hence we derive the 
 terms Southfield (Southfield Lane), Northfield, Westfield, &c. 
 Almost ever)- township " round about Bradford " furnishes 
 evidence of this remote period, either in the present 
 appearance of the land or the names which still remain, 
 H
 
 114 Rambles Round H or ton. 
 
 We have also mention of the ancient forms of rent and 
 services rendered by the holders of lands. Thus, three 
 parcels of land taken from the " waste " rendered " Knight's 
 service, suit of Court at Horton, and an annual rent of one 
 red rose." Thomas Sharp's purchase of the North Crofts, 
 the Leysteads, &c., was charged with the yearly rent of " 30s. 
 and one boyne hen," &c. The payment of a red rose, " in 
 the time of roses," was a common form of acknowledg- 
 ment where the title was not of the clearest. " Boynes " 
 {alias " boons ") were services rendered, so many days' 
 ploughing or reaping, and called " plough-boons " and " sickle 
 boons." " Hens " were often reserved as a species of rent in 
 kind to be paid, generally, at Shrove-tide. The custom was a 
 survival of the Anglo-Saxon " gafol," a tribute. The subject 
 of these old customs suggested by the above terms although 
 digressive is interesting, and may be alluded to at a future 
 opportunity, 
 
 John Sharp, who thus became endowed with a con- 
 siderable portion of his father's possessions, was only a 
 younger son, there being two brothers older than himself, 
 viz., Isaac, who died at a comparatively early age and was 
 named in his father's will, and Thomas, the eldest brother, 
 who died in 1636. The latter, who succeeded to the family 
 mansion at Horton (that known as Horton Hall), became 
 the father of John Sharp, the noted Parliamentarian and 
 Puritan, whose career and that of his family, which included 
 the Rev. Thos. Sharp, the Nonconformist preacher, and 
 Abraham Sharp, the astronomer and mathematician, were 
 traced in a previous article. 
 
 John Sharp, whose line we must now take up, was as 
 ardent a Royalist and as distinguished on the King's side as 
 his nephew became on that espoused by Parliament. He 
 was in several battles on the side of Charles I., during one 
 of which he received a severe contusion on the head with a 
 battle axe. Notwithstanding, he lived to over seventy years 
 of age, although he was wont to say that but for the awkward 
 blow on his cranium he might have lived to be an "old man." 
 So distressed was John the Royalist at the fate of his Royal 
 master, that it is said he never suffered his beard to be shaven
 
 Rambles Roimd Horto}i. 115 
 
 or his hair to be cut after the execution of Charles I. at 
 Whitehall. The headpiece worn by him in the Civil Wars 
 is preserved among the family heirlooms at Horton Old 
 Hall, along with armour, swords, &c. ; also the helmet and 
 armour worn by Isaac Sharp, his son, a lieutenant in the 
 Train Bands ; a cannon ball picked up after the siege of 
 Bradford, and other relics of that momentous period. It is 
 from this branch of the Sharp family that Mr. F. S. Powell is 
 descended. 
 
 John Sharp's interest in the affairs of his household, 
 however, must have been actively maintained, notwith- 
 standing his zealous partisanship. During his lifetime he 
 added considerably to the family estates — as we find from the 
 family deeds in the possession of Mr. Powell — in addition to 
 the property inherited by him from his father. Among his 
 purchases were two closes called Burnet Graves and 
 Storbrokes, lying in Great Horton, from Elizabeth Bayrstow, 
 of Barkerend ; and Kent Close, in Little Horton, from 
 Henry Walker, of Bradford. John, the Royalist, died in 
 1658, leaving two sons, Isaac and Thomas, the latter of 
 South Kirkby. 
 
 Isaac Sharp, the eldest son, born in 1613, lived at Horton 
 into the next century. He married Elizabeth Rhodes, of 
 Mirfield. He was also an active partisan on the King's side, 
 and received a commission as lieutenant in the Train Bands 
 of Agbrigg and Morley, his company comprising 120 men. 
 This document, signed by Buckingham, is dated May 22, 
 1653, '^'''d is in Mr. Powell's possession. 
 
 It is assumed that this branch of the family were resident 
 in a house not above a stone's throw from that occupied by 
 the elder branch, and it was left to Lieutenant Sharp to 
 establish his family in a residence entitled to be ranked as a 
 mansion of the period, namely, that in which Mr. Powell 
 resides, and which was built upon the site of the older 
 structure. There are several dates about the premises, 
 showing the various stages of progress. Over a door in 
 the building now used as estate offices on the western side 
 of the courtyard is the date 1665. Over the entrance door 
 on the south side of the hall is the date 1674 ; and over the
 
 116 Rambles Round Horfon. 
 
 fireplace in the south-west chamber the date 1675, v/ith 
 the initials I.S.— S.S. There is also a Latin motto of 
 doubtful construction, as follows — Mementem in est inortallis^ 
 and probably intended to remind all future occupiers that 
 they were but mortal. The initials are said to be those of 
 Isaac Sharp and his wife; but do not accord with the Christian 
 name of the wife, Elizabeth (who was living at the time), 
 except upon the assumption that some familiar cognomen 
 was adopted by the carv^er. Lieutenant Sharp lived to the 
 ripe old age of ninety-two, having survived all the troubles of 
 the Civil War and the reigns of the second Charles, of James 
 the Second, of William, Prince of Orange, and Mary, his 
 wife ; and he witnessed the accession of Queen Anne. 
 
 At his death in 1705, Lieutenant Sharp was succeeded 
 by his son, also called Isaac, who inherited all his father's 
 lands, and married in 1705 Elizabeth Wood, of Bramley. 
 One of his sisters married the Rev. Matthew Smith, of 
 Mixenden, and another Wm. Young, of Bradford, cutler. 
 He died in 1743, but probate of his will was not obtained 
 until 1 76 1, a recital of which shows that he devised all his 
 lands to Richard Gilpin Sawrey, of Horton, and John Smith, 
 clerk, of Mixenden, in trust for the benefit of his daughter 
 Dorothy, wife of Francis Stapleton ; then to her daughter 
 Elizabeth (married to Francis Bridges;, and next to his 
 granddaughter, Mary Stapleton. His estate was charged 
 with an annual payment of 20s. to the preachers at 
 Mixenden and Horton Chapels, "so long as Dissenting 
 ministers shall be there." 
 
 Isaac Sharp is said by John James to have rebuilt the 
 east end of the mansion at Horton ; and, if so, he also 
 contemplated the rebuilding of the house, judging by the 
 following extract : — "All my goods I give (except the wood 
 lying in the barn and the stones prepared for rebuilding the 
 dwelling-house in which I live, to each devisee of my real 
 estate as shall rebuild the same) to my daughter Dorothy, 
 whom I constitute my executrix." The witnesses to the will 
 were John Rhodes, clothier ; James Hall, yeoman ; and John 
 Northrop, schoolmaster. Attested by Richard Wainman, 
 attorney, and John Siddall, his clerk.
 
 Rambles Round H or ton. 117 
 
 Isaac Sharp was the last of the male line of his branch 
 of the family, and it is somewhat singular that the male line 
 in the elder branch had ceased to exist within twelve months 
 of his death, namely, in 1742, by the decease of Abraham 
 Sharp, the mathematician 
 
 In the recital of the terms of the will of the last Isaac 
 Sharp there occurred two names brought newly upon the scene, 
 the owners whereof were destined to play an important part 
 in the family history which we are attempting to pourtray. 
 The names in question were those of Stapleton and Bridges. 
 Contemporary with these, however, was that of Powell, the 
 respective representatives being Francis Stapleton, of Little 
 Horton, born 1703 ; the Rev. Wm. Bridges, rector of Castleford 
 in 1696 ; and Thos. Powell, of Bawdsley, co. Montgomery. 
 
 The Stapletons were living at Felliskirk, Yorkshire, in 
 1599, and one Francis gravitated towards Bradford as a 
 drysalter, and married a daughter of Thomas Lister, of 
 Manningham, a major under General Fairfax. Of this 
 marriage was a son Francis, born in 1703, who married 
 Dorothy, the surviving heiress of Isaac Sharp, above referred 
 to. Meanwhile Thomas Bridges, of Leeds, son of the 
 Rev. Wm. Bridges, married a daughter of the first Francis ' 
 Stapleton, and their son, Francis Bridges, of Leeds and 
 Horton, married the eldest daughter and co-heiress of the 
 second Francis Stapleton and Dorothy Sharp. In this manner 
 were the family interests of the Sharps, the Stapletons, and 
 the Bridges bound together. 
 
 The eldest child of Francis I?ridges and his wife (there 
 being also several others, including Francis Sharp Bridges, 
 afterwards of Horton Old Hall) was married to the Rev. Thos. 
 Wade, of Bierley, and afterwards of Tottington, Lancashire ; 
 and their sole surviving daughter and heiress, Anne, became 
 the wife of the Rev. Benjamin Powell, of Bellingham Lodge, 
 Wigan, a grandson of John Powell, of Bawdsley. The Rev. 
 B. Powell died in 1861, aged sixty-nine, and his wife in 1873 
 at the same age. They had a family of eleven children, of 
 whom there survive Mr. Francis Sharp Powell, the Rev. Thos, 
 Wade Powell, of St. John's College, Cambridge, and four 
 daughters, two of whom are married and have families.
 
 118 Ra/iibks Round Morton. 
 
 Mr. Francis Sharp Bridges, as the only surviving son of 
 Francis Bridges, of Leeds and Horton, succeeded not only to 
 his father's Leeds estates, but to those at Horton belonging 
 to the Sharp family. On his father's side he came of an 
 old and respectable Leeds family. Thomas Bridges, his 
 grandfather, who died in 1735, and who married Elizabeth 
 Stapleton, was a noted antiquary and the intimate friend 
 of Thoresby, the author of the " Ducatus Leodensis." 
 Dr. Whitaker's estimate of him may be gathered from the 
 following extract from a second edition of the " Ducatus," 
 edited by the doctor, who, in his comment upon the inscription 
 found in St. John's Cemetery, Leeds, says : — " It contains a 
 memorial of a true antiquary, to whose activity and exactness 
 in recording the transactions of this town (Leeds) and parish 
 for a series of years the editor of ' Thoresby ' has been greatly 
 indebted." Thomas Bridges also gathered the most valuable 
 collection of ancient medals which the town of Leeds had to 
 boast since that of Thoresby. His son, Mr. Francis Bridges, 
 was also of an antiquarian and literary turn, and was a great 
 collector of coins, besides having got together a valuable 
 library, containing examples of the earliest printed books, 
 and many MS. volumes. 
 
 This collection of coins and books, it may be added, is 
 in the possession of Mr, Powell, at Horton Old Hall. The 
 cabinet in which the medals and coins are contained is in 
 itself a treasure, the lock being surmounted by a bronze 
 shield, said to have formed the lid of a snuff-box possessed by 
 Charles I. at his execution. There is also a crescent-shaped 
 bronze surmounting the shield, containing an antique design. 
 
 From certain entries in the rent roll of Francis Bridges, 
 it would appear that in 1788 part of the Old Hall was let to 
 John Wood, also the barn, outbuildings, the Laith Croft, 
 Low Croft, New Croft, Far Burnet Graves, and P^ar Leysteads, 
 at a rental of ^,34 per annum. John Wood died in 1795- 
 Another part of the mansion, with cellar under Wood's part, 
 was let to the Rev. John Dean, minister at the Unitarian 
 Chapel. Mr. Francis Bridges, residing principally at Leeds, 
 only retained a portion of the mansion in his own occupation. 
 He died in 1795.
 
 Raiiibles Round Ho /ton. 119 
 
 The son of Mr, Francis Bridges, namely, Mr. Francis 
 Sharp Bridges, resided at Horton Old Hall during the course 
 of a long life. He was a bachelor, and lived singularly 
 retired, his principal outward excursion being when he 
 went to dine weekly with his two sisters at Hallfield House, 
 Manningham Lane. Although very wealthy, he employed 
 no servants beyond an antiquated housekeeper, named 
 Mallinson, and a kitchen girl, keeping neither horses nor' 
 cattle on his homestead. His tall, erect, and portly figure ; 
 his white cravat, deep-frilled shirt, set off by a square-headed 
 amber brooch, are remembered by many, as he took his 
 " constitutional " on Horton Green, measured by the frontage 
 of his residence. Mr. Bridges died in 1844, aged seventy- 
 eight years. 
 
 Under his will the Horton estates are inherited by his 
 nephew, Mr. Francis Sharp Powell, M.A., in addition to large 
 properties in Lancashire left him by his father. Mr. Powell 
 was born in 1827, his father, the Rev. Benjamin Powell, being 
 at the time of his birth incumbent of St. George's Church, 
 Wigan. Mr. Powell received his early education at Wigan 
 Grammar School, and partly at Sedbergh Grammar School, 
 an institution in which he has ever since maintained a lively 
 interest, and in its management has, more than any one else, 
 been the means of effecting an improvement. To such an 
 extent has this been recognised that for some time he has 
 been at the head of the board of governors. From Sedbergh 
 Mr. Powell entered St. John's College, Cambridge ; was 
 elected a fellow in 1851 ; and graduated M.A. in 1853. In 
 the same year he was called to the bar of the Liner Temple, 
 and went the Northern Circuit two or three years, but his 
 inclination was towards a political career. He has sat four 
 times in Parliament in the Conservative interest, namely, for 
 his native borough of Wigan, for Cambridge, and for the 
 Northern Division of the West Riding. Li recognition of his 
 faithful services to his party, Mr. Powell had an excellent 
 portrait of himself presented to him in October, 1884, by 
 gentlemen connected with the Northern Division of Yorkshire. 
 
 Mr. Powell, however, is not exclusively a politician. His 
 services are ever at the call of those whose aim is the pro-
 
 120 Rambles Round Hoyton. 
 
 motion of philanthropy, educational advancement, religious 
 propaganda, or social and sanitary reform. As a devoted 
 Churchm.an he has given largely of his wealth to church 
 extension and endowment in Bradford and the neighbour- 
 hood. He has expended upwards of ^30,000 upon the 
 erection of All Saints' Church, Horton Green, the schools, 
 and the vicarage. As an example of ecclesiastical architecture 
 of its period this church stands pre-eminently abov-e any other 
 in the town or immediate neighbourhood. He has also 
 assisted in the erection of nine of the churches of Bradford 
 projected by the society for promoting the building of ten 
 churches, besides helping materially towards the erection of 
 schools. He is a frequent contributor towards the deliberations 
 of the Church Congress and Social Science Association, and 
 an ardent advocate of the promotion of education, elementary, 
 religious, and technical, being upon the councils of several 
 colleges and institutions having these ends in view. 
 
 Air. Powell married, in 1858, Annie, daughter of Mr. M. 
 Gregson, of Liverpool, but has no family The arms of the 
 family are — Azure, a pheon argent, within a bordure or, 
 charged with eight torteuxes. Crest, an eagle's head, erased 
 azure ducally gorged or, holding in his mouth a pheon argent. 
 
 Horton Old Hall, a view of which is given as the 
 frontispiece to this volume, is the residence of Mr. Powell 
 while in Yorkshire, and is a substantial and characteristic 
 example of the period of its erection, namely, that of the reign 
 of Charles H. It is evident, however, from the existence of 
 several branches of the Sharp family of Horton, that there 
 vv'ere other residences belonging to them, that knov/n as the 
 " Old House at Home," at Holme Top, being probably one 
 of them. 
 
 Horton Old Hall, however, as a residence of the family, 
 is the only one preserving its continuity of connection, and in 
 the hands of its recent possessors it has been preserved in 
 excellent condition. It has two frontages, one towards All 
 Saints' Church, and another overlooking the open fields town- 
 v/ards. As previously remarked, its position is admirable from 
 a residential point of view, notwithstanding the encroachments 
 of modern dwellings on various sides. The arrangements of
 
 Rambles Round Horton. 121 
 
 tlic hall arc those usually found in similar examples of the 
 domestic architecture of the period, and comprise central hall 
 open to the roof, with oaken gallery admitting to the retiring 
 rooms above, and eastern and western wings, containing 
 comfortable apartments such as are not always found in 
 modern residences. The hall or "house-body" is wainscotted 
 in oak of beautiful colour, and contains the armour and 
 other relics previously alluded to, also a small collection of 
 family portraits, including those of Abraham Sharp, the 
 mathematician ; Archdeacon Sharp, the son of the Arch- 
 bishop ; and others. The oak furniture of the hall is also 
 in harmony with its surroundings. 
 
 In an adjoining apartment there is a fine portrait of 
 Hogarth, painted by himself; an antique specimen of 
 needlework and embroidery, probably three centuries old ; • 
 and many articles of vertu, bespeaking the taste of the 
 owner. The library is on the upper floor, upon the corridor 
 of which there is a triptych taken from a Spanish monastery, 
 and in its way one of the treasures of the house. It is 
 divided into three folding leaves, containing compartments 
 depicting various scenes in the life of our Lord, in illuminated 
 colours of medieval workmanship. The library, from an 
 antiquarian and bibliographic point of view, is really valuable, 
 containing as it does collections of works representing the 
 earlier printing age, ancient MSS. in Gothic characters, 
 rescued from monastic archives on the Continent, besides 
 several valuable early English manuscripts. 
 
 An adjoining bedroom contains a massive and richly- 
 carved oak bedstead, which, tradition has it, once rested the 
 limbs of the Protector during his brief residence at Horton 
 Hall (the home of the Parliamentarian branch of the family). 
 So far as we are aware, however, there is no record of old 
 Noll ever having honoured Bradford by his presence ; 
 but it is an ungracious act to discredit old traditions, 
 and we tell the story " as 'twas told to us." 
 
 We may add that Mr. Powell possesses many of the 
 antiquarian tastes of his immediate predecessors at the Old 
 Hall, but his more active interest in current topics prevents 
 liis prosecuting the study of archaeology.
 
 122 Rambles Round H or ton. 
 
 C H iV P T E R X I . 
 
 John Sharp, Archbishop of York — His Descent — His Early Years — His Promotion — 
 His Family — Granville Sharp the Pliilanthropist — Wm. Sharp, Surgeon — Dr. 
 Sharp, B'.R.S. 
 
 This paper we propose to devote to that branch of the 
 Sharp family with which John Sharp, D.D., Archbishop of 
 York, is usually associated, and from whom sprang two arch- 
 deacons of Northumberland, Granville Sharp, the celebrated 
 philanthropist, and others v/ho have lived honourably amongst 
 us. No apology should be needed for thus extending this 
 record of a family which, although its members may not have 
 been instrumental in introducing or extending the trade and 
 commerce of Bradford, has nevertheless produced those who 
 have served their country in the cause of religion and 
 philanthropy, in the walks of medical science, and in literature. 
 
 At the outset, however, we are confronted with a difficulty 
 which has prevented others who have made the attempt from 
 clearly establishing the connection between the Archbishop's 
 branch and that of the two families whose history we have 
 already traced. The difficulty appears to commence with the 
 question of the relationship of James Sharp, witness to the 
 will of Christopher Sharp, in 1530, and of Christopher Sharp, 
 whose will is dated 1543. Although the point has not been 
 clearly defined by the College of Arms, this James Sharp is 
 supposed to have been a brother or near relative of Chris. 
 Sharp, and father of James Sharp (grandfather of the Arch- 
 bishop), as he died before 1557, leaving his son James, of 
 Horton, clothier, who, according to Hopkinson's MS., lived in 
 " a house late belonging to Kirkstall Abbey," and whose will 
 is dated 1 590. The matter is not one to interest the general 
 reader, but to the genealogist it is a question which will 
 stimulate much research until the moot point is satisfactorily 
 set at rest. 
 
 From James Sharp, whose will is dated 1590, sprang 
 John of Woodhousc and Parkhouse, Bierley ; James, of 
 Woodhouse ; also Thomas, Grace, and Isaac. At present,
 
 Rambles Round Hart on. 123 
 
 however, we follow the line of the second son, James, who 
 had with other issue James, of Woodhouse, who died in 1690, 
 the progenitor of the Sharps of Gildersome, afterwards of 
 Bradford ; and Thomas, of Bradford, born in 1606, and whose 
 will was dated 1671. 
 
 This younger son, Thomas, followed the trade of a 
 drysalter and oil dealer in Bradford. It is noticeable that 
 the business of drysalter, or " Salter " by abbreviation, was 
 common in Bradford in those early days, and must have been 
 a source of profit, as several families, the Stansfields and 
 others, derived from it considerable wealth. The house in 
 which Thomas Sharp resided and in which his eldest son, 
 John, afterwards Archbishop of York and Metropolitan of 
 England, was born, was situated upon the site of the building 
 adjoining the Unicorn Inn, in Ivegate, on the western or 
 upper side. 
 
 Within the recollection of old Bradfordians, the original 
 building stood with its antique gables fronting to that busy 
 thoroughfare, which, it is needless to add, is one of the 
 most ancient streets in Bradford. The original appearance, 
 however, is now unrecognisable, owing to the house having 
 been fronted with shop premises. The buikiing behind 
 contained many of its original features, until it was removed 
 within the present year to give place to a new erection. 
 
 Thomas Sharp, the drysalter, married Dorothy, daughter 
 of John Weddall, rector of Widdington, Yorks, and her 
 brother John settled in Bradford as a solicitor, if he did not 
 learn his profession here. His office was in Church Bank 
 or Stott Hill. The name of "John Weddall, attorney," is 
 familiar to any rummagcr of old legal documents relating 
 not only to Bradford, but to a wide district round about, 
 indicating that his practice was an extensive one. He died 
 in London suddenly and mysteriously, it was said, in the 
 year 1672. 
 
 In the Rev. Oliver Heywood's diary occurs the following 
 mention of Mr. Weddall : — 
 
 June, 1672. — .Mr. Weddall, of Bradford, who hath been as great an 
 attorney as any in the country, and was raised to a great estate of late, 
 had built a sumptuous new house near the church, and had many men's
 
 124 Rambles Round Horton. 
 
 businesses upon his hands. We were at dinner lately at Mr. Milner's 
 funeral. Speaking of death, he said complimentally, " It will surely 
 come/' &c. I advised him not to go into his new house too soon. He 
 answered " No, not till Michaelmas." He had been exceeding intent 
 upon it, it must forward, was almost finished, he went up to the town, 
 came into London on Monday, June 17, or Tuesday, but he dyed on 
 Thursday, June 20, 1672. Some say he was seized upon by a palsy, 
 others that he had been at a tavern and got hurt with drinking, but he is 
 gone, and his wife takes on very heavily. They are left in a labyrinth of 
 trouble, not knowing how things stand. He purposed that should be the 
 last time of his going to London — so it proved. 
 
 Besides the future Archbishop, Thomas Sharp and 
 Dorothy his wife had several children, viz. : — Hannah, 
 Thomas, James, and Joshua. Their only daughter married 
 John Richardson, of Birks Hall, attorney-at-law. James 
 resided at Bradford in competence ; and Joshua received 
 knighthood in London. 
 
 The Archbishop's father and mother were religious and 
 hospitable people, but were of a different way of thinking 
 upon the disputes of those days. Thomas Sharp was inclined 
 to Puritanism, and much favoured the Parliamentarian party, 
 being himself in great favour with Lord Fairfax, who made 
 his head-quarters at the house in Ivegate when in these parts. 
 Among other expressions of his favour, the general is said to 
 have offered a commission to his host, which probably might 
 have been accepted had not his wife, who was a strenuous 
 Royalist, stoutly opposed the proposal. 
 
 From his parents the future Archbishop early received 
 those religious impressions which were never effaced. He 
 was sent at an early age to the Bradford Grammar School, 
 and while there his father had him taught a system of 
 shorthand for the purpose of taking down every Sunday the 
 sermons he heard at the Parish Church, and these he was 
 called upon to repeat to the family each Sunday evening. 
 This peculiar acquirement the Archbishop turned to good 
 account in his maturer years. He was never at any other school 
 than that of his native town, and he made such progress that 
 at fifteen years of age his father determined to send him 
 direct to the University and maintain him there for seven 
 years. He was accordingly admitted to Christ College,
 
 Rmiiblcs Round Horfon. i-25 
 
 Cambridge, in April, 1660, just before the restoration of the 
 King, his tutor being Abraham Brooksbank, afterwards vicar 
 of Bradford. 
 
 While at Cambridge young Sharp was not idle, for in 
 addition to classics and divinity he seemed to have made 
 some progress in the study of chemistry and botany. In 
 1667 he left Cambridge owing to an attack of illness, and 
 returned to his fatlrer's house at Bradford, to take the chance 
 of preferment in some form. During his stay in Yorkshire 
 the future Archbishop was a candidate for the curacy of 
 Wibsey, but a more successful competitor obtained it. After 
 being raised to the archiepiscopacy he invited the incumbent 
 of Wibsey to dinner, and paid him the most marked attention 
 as the providential cause of his own elevation. He presently 
 afterwards received the appointment of domestic chaplain 
 to Sir Heneage Finch, then Solicitor-General, who ever 
 afterwards became his patron and friend. 
 
 Under his patron's roof, in Kensington House, young 
 Sharp zealously continued his studies, and received valuable 
 assistance from Sir Heneage Finch. In 1669 he took his M.A. 
 degree, but again, owing to the closeness of his application to 
 study, he was obliged to return to Bradford, and received 
 benefit by the change. The opportunity occurred also of 
 taking a last leave of his father, who was declining apace, 
 and who died about a month after he left him, namely, in the 
 year 1671. Returning to the home of Sir Heneage Finch, 
 his patron, now Attorney-General, procured him the Arch- 
 deaconry of Berkshire, Mr. Sharp being then only twenty-eight 
 years of age. His youth, indeed, caused him to accept the 
 office with some diffidence, but for his encouragement his 
 patron not only paid the expenses of his 'first visitation, but 
 lent him his own servants and horses. Upon Sir Heneage 
 Finch attaining the woolsack in 1673, his good offices towards 
 his favourite chaplain were again exercised, and in the year 
 1675 he disposed of three preferments upon him, namely, 
 by appointing him a prebend of Norwich, vicar of St. 
 Bartholomew's, and rector of St. Giles's-in-thc-Fields, all of 
 which preferments were accompanied with further deeds of 
 kindness.
 
 126 Rambles Round Horfoii. 
 
 It was as rector of St. Giles's that Dr. Sharp first won 
 fame. During this period James II. had issued an order that 
 the clergy should not preach on Popery, but the doctor 
 notwithstanding preached his annual sermon, for which the 
 King ordered the Bishop of London to suspend him. The 
 Bishop refused, and this led to the seven bishops being sent 
 to the Tower of London, and then to the abdication of James. 
 
 Towards the end of the spring of 1676 Dr. Sharp 
 married Elizabeth, daughter of William Palmer, Esq., of 
 Winthrop, in Lincolnshire, the marriage being solemnised by 
 Dr. Tillotson, his intimate friend — another distinguished 
 Yorkshireman who filled an archiepiscopal throne as Arch- 
 bishop of Canterbury. Dr. Sharp's own elevation to the 
 Archbishopric of York took place in 1691. By the influence 
 of Lord Nottingham he had been promoted to the deanery of 
 Canterbury in 1689, vacant by the elevation of his friend 
 Tillotson, and in the summer of 1690 he visited Bradford, 
 where his mother still resided. In May, 1691, the aged 
 Archbishop of York, Lamplugh, died, and, by the joint 
 influence of Lord Nottingham and Archbishop Tillotson, Dr. 
 Sharp obtained the see. He was only in his forty-seventh 
 year when he mounted the archiepiscopal throne of York. 
 
 Soon after his consecration he first drew up a short 
 account of the most material things which had ever happened 
 to him till that time, and which laid the foundation for the 
 Archbishop's diary, from whence was drawn material for the 
 " Life of Archbishop Sharp," written by his son Thomas, 
 Archdeacon of Northumberland. Soon after the accession 
 of Queen Anne, when the Archbishop began to have more 
 business upon his hands, his memoranda grew more frequent 
 and particular, and instead of the weekly account he kept 
 a proper diary or journal, which from the year 1702 to 1713, 
 the last eleven years of his life, makes up five volumes quarto, 
 all written in his own shorthand. 
 
 Archbishop Sharp held the archiepiscopal see of York 
 longer than any of his predecessors since the Reformation 
 viz., above two and twenty years. During that long period 
 the con.scientious manner in which he discharged its duties 
 has long ago become historical. Although we cannot here
 
 Rambles Round Hortoti. 127 
 
 follow up his career, prominence may be given to two rules 
 which at the outset he laid down for his own guidance — the 
 first being that no one but a Yorkshire clergyman should 
 hold a benefice in his gift ; his other rule was, never to 
 meddle in the election of members of Parliament. In 
 looking after his diocese and the clergy in it he has had no 
 successor more industrious ; while as a preacher he was 
 especially renowned. His published works are principally 
 sermons, and at one time he was remarkably prolific. He 
 was also an industrious collector of coins, and was a great 
 friend of Ralph Thoresby, the antiquary. Archbishop Sharp 
 died at Bath on February 2nd, 17 13, in the 70th year of his 
 aee. He lies interred in the Cathedral at York, where a 
 sumptuous monument is erected over his remains. 
 
 Of his marriage with Elizabeth Palmer the Archbishop 
 had fourteen children, seven sons and seven daughters, of 
 whom, however, two only of each sex survived him. Thomas, 
 his younger son, was made Archdeacon of Northumberland 
 in 1722, and was no less distinguished than the Archbishop 
 had been for integrity, piety, and a conscientious discharge 
 of his duty. His writings are very numerous. Among the 
 most valuable is a life of the Archbishop, which includes a 
 collection of many of his letters and other papers. He 
 married Judith, youngest daughter of Sir George Wheler, a 
 prebend of Durham, and died in 1758, having been the father 
 of a numerous offspring, of whom five sons and three 
 daughters arrived at maturity. His eldest son, John, suc- 
 ceeded to his father's principal dignities in the church, viz., 
 as Prebendary of Durham and Archdeacon of Northumberland. 
 He was also vicar of Hartburn, and perpetual curate of 
 Bamburgh. He is distinguished in the records of British 
 humanity at Bamburgh Castle in Northumberland — which as 
 a charitable asylum has a history almost unparalleled in 
 the kingdom. 
 
 Bamburgh Castle played an important part in the Wars 
 of the Roses ; the battles of Towton and Hexham, together 
 with the siege of Bamburgh Castle, which surrendered to 
 King Edward IV., tending to place the crown more firmly on 
 that monarch's head. Although of very ancient foundation,
 
 128 Rambles Round Horton. 
 
 the castle acquired its present interest from its bequest by- 
 Lord Crewe, Bishop of Durham, along with considerable 
 estates in Durham and Northumberland, for the purposes of 
 benevolence, the augmentation of livings, the founding of 
 schools, &c. The fund seems to have been faithfully disbursed 
 by the trustees, but not upon any permanent system until 
 Dr. John Sharp succeeded to his father's position as chief of 
 the trustees, and took its affairs into his own management. 
 
 Bamburgh Castle is situated on an almost perpendicular 
 rock close to the sea, accessible only on the south-east side on 
 a spot where (according to the monkish historians) once stood 
 the palace of the kings of Northumberland, built by Ida about 
 the year 560, and part of the present ruins are supposed to be 
 the remains of his work, The rock on which it is placed is 
 1 50 ft. above low-water mark, and after the structure had 
 fallen to decay was famous only for the wreck of vessels and 
 the helpless cry of forlorn mariners thrown on the coast. 
 Some partial repairs had been undertaken for the purpose 
 of holding the manor courts and of forming a temporary 
 dwelling for a religious minister within the castle, when the 
 view of its stately remains of ancient grandeur and of the 
 distress and danger which surrounded them suggested to Dr. 
 Sharp more enlarged designs and ideas of relief proportionate 
 to the magnitude of the occasion. Plans were laid down and 
 preparations made for roofing and clearing out the great 
 tower or keep, and adapting its spacious contents to the 
 service of several charitable establishments. The upper 
 storey of the tower was formed into granaries, whence in 
 times of scarcity corn was distributed to the indigent, 
 without distinction, at a low price. The lower storey was 
 divided into rooms for the manor court; schools for educating 
 the children of the poor ; a hospital with accommodation for 
 incurables ; a dispensary and a general surgery, with cold 
 and warm baths for poor persons of all descriptions. 
 
 Dr. Sharp resided at Bamburgh several months in the 
 year, and during his life expended a large part of his own 
 property on the place. He died in April, 1792, having 
 bequeathed an estate, his library, and other property for 
 the preservation of the castle. At Bamburgh Castle are
 
 Rambles Round Norton. 129 
 
 preserved many memorials of the Sharp family. Th.crc is 
 a very fine portrait of Archdeacon Sharp, also his ancient 
 Sedan chair ; and in the church a fine monument of him by 
 Chan trey. 
 
 William Sharp, another brother, was most eminent in 
 his profession as surgfjon in London, where he practised for 
 thirty-seven years, and was also surgeon to St. Bartholomew's 
 Hospital. 
 
 Granville Sharp, the most distinguished of the sons of 
 Archdeacon Sharp, was born at Durham in 1735, and was 
 intended for the London mercer)' trade. Passing over the 
 details of his younger days, a short outline of his life ought 
 to interest every Englishman. His great works ma)' be 
 classed under four principal heads, viz. :— The liberation 
 of African slaves in England ; the colonisation of Sierra 
 Leone ; the establishment of Episcopacy in America ; and 
 the abolition of the slave trade. To these may be added his 
 attempt to reconcile the British colonies with England at the 
 commencement of the American troubles. While his efforts 
 were at various periods directed towards one or other of the 
 above objects, his monument as a philanthropist is based 
 upon the self-denying efforts put forth by him in the interests 
 of the slave. 
 
 It has been customary to place the name of Clark.son 
 and Wilberforce in the front rank in the movement leading to 
 the abolition of slavery ; but, without detracting from the 
 good work done by them, it is simply a matter of history 
 that Granville Sharp first struck the blow which severed the 
 chain of the negro slave. Clarkson joined him, and the 
 two together prepared the way and made it possible for 
 Wilberforce to bring the subject before Parliament, and, 
 with the assistance of William Pitt, obtain the desired Acts 
 of Emancipation. 
 
 An instance of the length to which disrespect for human 
 freedom had proceeded may be quoted from the newspapers 
 of the period. Thus, in April, 1769, an advertisement 
 appeared in the London Gazetteer, in which, among other 
 "goods and chattels," mention was made of "a chesnut 
 gelding, a Tim Whisky, and a zvell made, good-tempered black 
 
 I
 
 130 Rambles Round Norton. 
 
 boy.'' No wonder that such open dealing in human flesh 
 should have aroused the better feelings of men of Granville 
 Sharp's calibre. He had about ten trials during five years 
 before Lord Mansfield, Lord Chief Justice of I^ngland, for 
 setting free slaves in London, before he succeeded in getting 
 a declaration from the judge that English laws knew nothing 
 of slavery. When the action was brought against him for 
 having "stolen goods" in his possession, Granville Sharp 
 could not persuade a single barrister to take up his brief. All 
 these learned gentlemen said he was in the wrong, and that the 
 chief legal authority was against him. This was true enough, 
 but it had only the effect of spurring the noble-minded man 
 to further efibrt, one result being that he set to work to study 
 the laws of England for himself in order to defend his own 
 case. Granville Sharp succeeded 'in his first trial, and then 
 persevered in bringing on a succession of trials by obtaining 
 writs of habeas corpus against individual slave-holders ; but it 
 was not till after five years of personal fighting in the Court of 
 King's Bench that he obtained a final judgment in his favour. 
 Upon this, about 400 negroes were turned out into the streets 
 by their masters, and in their emergency the whole body 
 went to their liberator, Granville Sharp, who took care of 
 them until he had secured the colony of Sierra Leone for a 
 settlement and had seen them colonised, although this was 
 not accomplished without involving considerable labour and 
 embarassment upon the philanthropic promoter. 
 
 Granville Sharp's labours were equally conspicuous in 
 other important points affecting the national character, 
 which cannot at length be alluded to here. In addition to his 
 national labours he was an active promoter of various religious, 
 philanthropic, and literary institutions. He was also a 
 voluminous writer of controversial literature, and was learned 
 in languages. His death occurred in July, 181 3, at the age of 
 seventy-eight, and his remains lie at Fulham. A monument was, 
 however, raised to his memory by the African Institution, and 
 executed by Chan trey, in Poets' Corner, Westminster Abbey, 
 which contains an inscription setting forth his many virtues. 
 
 Having so far as space permits referred to the more 
 distinguished members of Archbishop Sharp's branch of his
 
 Rambles Round Morton. 131 
 
 family, we turn with pleasure to the elder stock which, like 
 the junior branch, traces its descent from James Sharp, of 
 Horton, clothier, and Alice, his wife. As observed in noting 
 the Archbishop's descent, James Sharp had a son James, of 
 Woodhouse, in Bierley, the grandfather of Archbishop Sharp, 
 whose son Thomas has been referred to as the Archbishop's 
 father. An elder brother James also resided at Woodhouse, 
 and died there in 1690. During his lifetime, therefore, he was 
 a near neighbour of the celebrated Dr. Richardson, of Bierley 
 Hall. Some discrepancy exists in the published pedigrees as 
 to the issue of this James of Woodhouse, but there is little 
 doubt as to his being the progenitor of the Sharps of Cutler 
 Heights and Gildersome, from whom the Bradford Sharps 
 were descended. Following the pedigree drawn for R. Hey 
 Sharp, Esq., of York, we find that James Sharp's eldest son 
 was living at Tong in 1684. Another son, named Abraham, 
 was born in 1656, and resided at Cutler Heights. Abraham 
 Sharp, of Cutler Heights, appears to have died without issue, 
 his property being inherited by a fourth Abraham (for there 
 was a succession of that name), who died unmarried in 1841. 
 The property afterwards went to Samuel Sharp, architect, 
 then of Leeds, his nephew. 
 
 John Sharp, of Tong, the eldest son of his father James, 
 however, had a numerous following, his line being still 
 continued, and with every pro.spect of its continuance. His 
 son was William Sharp, of Bradford, whose only son having 
 issue was John Sharp, of Gildersome, who married Hannah 
 Milner, and died in 1753. His eldest son, John, born in 
 1737, married Sarah, daughter of Richard Hey, drysalter, of 
 Pudsey, and sister of four brothers who all distinguished 
 themselves, one being William Hey, F.R.S., of Leeds, surgeon ; 
 another, John Hey, D.D., Norrissian Professor of Divinity ; 
 a third, Samuel, M.A., President of Magdalen College, 
 Cambridge ; and the fourth Richard Hey, LL.D., of Herting- 
 fordbury, Hertford. 
 
 •i We are now brought in contact with members of the 
 Sharp family in whom Bradfordians have reason to feel an 
 especial interest. William Sharp, the eminent Bradford 
 surgeon, was the second son of John of Gildersome, having
 
 132 Rambles Round Hoi'fon. 
 
 been pupil with his uncle, William Hey, of Leeds. He was 
 born in 1769, and after having held the appointment of house 
 surgeon of St. Bartholomew's Hospital, London, settled in 
 Bradford in 1792, when in his twenty-fourth year. He 
 soon became pre-eminently the surgeon of Bradford, then 
 a pleasant little town of 5000 inhabitants, as well as of tlie 
 district, a position which he held until his death, and he 
 practised here for over forty years. 
 
 As a medical man and citizen Mr. Sharp was universally 
 respected for his professional talents and amiable character. 
 In addition to his medical duties Mr. Sharp was captain 
 of the Bradford Volunteers, enrolled in expectation of an 
 invasion by Buonaparte. He lived mostly in Kirkgate, in a 
 gabled house at the bottom of Dale Street, but some time 
 before his death erected a house in Manor Rov/, then at 
 the " outskirts " of Bradford. Mr. Sharp died suddenly in 
 November, 1833, aged sixty-four years. A monument was 
 erected to his memory by subscriptions raised by his friends 
 in Bradford. It is a marble sculpture representing a female 
 figure in an attitude of sorrow, and for years occupied a 
 position in the Boiling Chapel of the Bradford Parish Church. 
 The monument has since been removed to the corridor of the 
 Bradford Infirmary, where there is also a bust of the eminent 
 surgeon. 
 
 William Sharp had several brothers — John, who married 
 Mary Powell, of Whitkirk, and died s.p. in 1806; Richard, of 
 Gildersome, Vv^ho married Mary, a daughter of John Turton, 
 Esq., of Gildersome, and died in 1810 ; Abraham, the 
 youngest, who died unmarried in 1841 ; and Samuel, vicar 
 of Wakefield, who died in 1855, and had two sons, both 
 living, namely, the Rev. John Sharp, M.A., vicar of Horbury, 
 which living he has held for over fifty years ; and the Rev. 
 William Sharp, M.A., of Mareham Rectory, Boston. 
 
 Richard Sharp, of Gildersome, had three sons, who all 
 attained to prominent positions in life, namely, Richard Hey 
 Sharp, architect, of York, who died in 1853, aged sixty years ; 
 William Sharp, M.D., F.R.S., F.G.S., formerly of Bradford, 
 and now living at Horton House, Rugby; and Samuel Sharp, 
 of Leeds, architect, who died in 1874, aged sixty-six years.
 
 Rambles Round Hoyton. 133 
 
 The only survivor of Richard Sharp's children, and the 
 representative of the elder branch of James Sharp, of Wood- 
 house, is, therefore, Dr. William Sharp, of Rugby. 
 
 The record of this gentleman's connection with a notable 
 Bradford family will doubtless be regarded with equal interest 
 to that of his distinguished uncle, William Sharp, the elder, 
 whose pupil he was, and to whose practice he succeeded on 
 the death of his uncle in 1833. At that period, too, his uncle's 
 residence in Manor Row became his, and there he continued 
 to reside. During the winter of 1838-9 Mr. Sharp delivered 
 in the Exchange Rooms a course of lectures on natural 
 philosophy, which excited considerable attention, and led to 
 the formation of the Bradford Philosophical Society, an 
 account of which is given in James's " History of Bradford," 
 and of which Mr. Sharp was unanimously elected president. 
 While Mr. Sharp had before him the laudable object of 
 exciting attention to the pursuits of the higher branches of 
 science, he had mainly in view the inauguration of " local 
 museums," that formed in Bradford being the first of its kind 
 in the kingdom. Afterwards a paper read by him at the 
 meeting of the British Association, held at Birmingham in 
 1839, was so well received that it may be said to have had no 
 small share in the now general formation of local museums. 
 
 Mr. Sharp enjoyed the reputation of a skilful practitioner, 
 having successfully performed lithotomy five times. He is 
 the author of a medical work entitled " Practical Observations 
 on Injuries to the Head," besides other writings on medical 
 subjects. For thirteen years he was surgeon to the Bradford 
 Infirmary. In 1843 Mr. Sharp disposed of his practice to 
 Mr. R. H. Meade, who also became tenant of his house in 
 Manor Row, and went to reside at Rugby, in Warwickshire, 
 where he became a physician by two degrees of M.D. His 
 attachment to this neighbourhood, however, is sufficiently 
 indicated by the name given to the house in which he resides. 
 In 1840 Dr. Sharp was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society. 
 He is not now in practice, but soon after settling at Rugby 
 pursued an investigation into Hahnemann's system of 
 medicine, which has gone on until the present time, with 
 the result that while not owning himself a disciple of
 
 184 Rambles Round Horton. 
 
 Hahnemann, Dr. Sharp has found by a practical and 
 experimental inquiry into his method what may prove to 
 be a truly scientific basis for therapeutics — the healing of 
 diseases by medicine. 
 
 Dr. Sharp married Anne, a daughter of Saml. Hailstone, 
 Esq., attorney, who died in 1834, and for his second wife 
 Emma, daughter of the Rev. John Scott, M.A., of St. Mary's, 
 Hull. The remains of his first wife and her daughter lie in 
 the family vault in the Bradford Parish Church, where there 
 is a monument. Of his family three sons and one daughter 
 survive. 
 
 The reason for Dr. Sharp's selection of Rugby as a place 
 of residence was the education of his sons at the famous 
 school of Rugby, where the late Archbishop of Canterbury 
 (Dr. Tait) was then head master. To him Dr. Sharp pro- 
 posed in 1849 the introduction of the teaching of physical 
 science into the school curriculum. That proposal was 
 adopted, and Dr. Sharp had the pleasure of being the first 
 to begin such teaching in any public school. His eldest son, 
 John, after taking his degree at Oxford, was ordained in 1861 
 by Dr. Tait (then Bishop of London), and went out as "Rugby 
 Fox Master," to assist Mr. Robert Noble in his High School 
 (for high-caste natives) at Masulipatam, South India. Mr. 
 Noble dying in 1865, Mr. Sharp became principal until he 
 was driven home by ill-health in 1878. He married Elizabeth, 
 daughter of Dr. Maclean, of Oban, and has several children. 
 
 Dr. Sharp's second son, William Hey Sharp, M.A., has 
 recently been made a canon of the cathedral of Sydney, New 
 South Wales, by Bishop Barry, Primate of Australia. He is 
 head of the Church of England portion of the University of 
 Sydney ; and married Mary Edith Pattison, daughter of 
 Archdeacon Farr, of Adelaide. A third son, Granville 
 Sharp, M.A., is assistant master of Marlborough College, 
 Wiltshire.
 
 Rambles Round Hoyton. 135 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Little Horton Green — All Saints' Church — The Old Workhouse^ — "Skinny Booth" 
 — Frank Ackroyd — The Moulson Family — Abraham Balme — Edmund Riley — 
 Benjamin Kaye. 
 
 For a little while Ioniser we must linger at Horton 
 Green, noticing in this topographical ramble what may appear 
 of interest. Unquestionably the grandest pile that has been 
 erected under the auspices of the Bradford Church Building 
 Society is All Saints' Church, Horton Green. Both the site 
 and the cost of the erection have been provided at the sole 
 expense of the founder, F. S. Powell, Esq. 
 
 This church, one of the choicest specimens of Decorated 
 Gothic architecture to be found in the North of England, 
 was built from designs by Messrs. Mallinson & Healey, of 
 Bradford, Mr. Israel Thornton being the contractor for the 
 whole of the works. The edifice is in the form of a Latin 
 cross, with nave, side aisles, transepts, and chancel, the length 
 of the church internally being about 137 feet. Pillars with 
 clustered shafts and admirably-carved capitals of flowers and 
 leaves divide the side aisles from the nave. The tower, with 
 spire, is of semi-hexagon design, and rises to a great heig-ht. 
 The windows are filled with stained glass of great beauty. 
 Marble steps lead to the altar, and the stalls for the choir, the 
 reading-desk, and pulpit are elaborately and beautifully carved. 
 Taken altogether. All Saints' Church stands unrivalled in 
 these parts for architectural beauty and internal arrangement. 
 The corner-stone was laid on November 23, 1861, and the 
 edifice was consecrated in March, 1864, having cost upwards 
 of ;^ 1 5,000. 
 
 Until the erection of All Saints' Church the ground 
 upon which it stands formed part of the wastes of Horton, 
 and in the township survey of 1802 is called Little Horton 
 Green, without owner's name, the area being estimated at 
 6a. 2r. 3p. The shaft of a coal-pit was after the above date 
 sunk upon the site of the church, the coal being worked by 
 David Armitage. The ground' was, however, claimed by Mr.
 
 136 Rambles Round Horton. 
 
 Francis S. Bridges, of the Old Hall, as part of his share of 
 the wastes, and was enclosed. 
 
 The iirst building erected upon the Green was the 
 township Workhouse, after the previous one, which stood in 
 what is now Horton Park, had been vacated. For many- 
 years the building (still standing) was used for housing the 
 poor of Horton. The introduction of the New Poor Law, 
 however, necessitated a change in the arrangements, an after- 
 effect being the erection of the stupendous pile called the 
 Bradford Workhouse, upon a large open space formerly the 
 park of Horton Hall. After the building on the Green 
 became no longer necessary, it was converted into dwellings. 
 One of the first tenants, we believe, was Mr. Tom Mitchell, 
 father of Mr. Abraham Mitchell, of Bowling Parks. Mr. 
 William Pullan followed, and lived there for forty-five years, 
 his son Robert succeeding him. Another portion was taken 
 by Mrs. Milner, who, with Miss Hauptmann, an unmarried 
 sister, resided there some time. 
 
 The appearance of Horton Green, with the exceptions 
 just named, has undergone less alteration than probably any 
 other portion of the residential parts of Horton, and it still 
 remains a pleasant quarter of the great borough. Formerly 
 there stood upon the upper side of the Green a large plane 
 tree, whose umbrageous shade. 
 
 For talking age and whispering lovers made, 
 
 answered well its purpose for several generations of 
 Hortonians, while but a slender stretch of the imagination 
 is required to picture the " village train from labour free " 
 assembling round it for sport and recreation such as were 
 usual in the " good old days." Gardens, orchards, old- 
 fashioned dwellings of the better class, and homesteads, 
 where the labours of the husbandman were combined 
 with that of handloom weaving, constituted the primitive 
 surroundings of this picturesque hamlet. 
 
 There were formerly many freeholds on the Green, 
 principally held by the Sharps, the Listers, the Swaines, the 
 Balmes, and the Dentons. We incline to the belief that in 
 more remote times the Booth family had possessions, if not
 
 Rauiblcs Round Morton. 137 
 
 a residence, on the Green. This opinion is founded on an 
 indenture bearing date April, 1603, wherein Thomas Booth, 
 of Little Horton, clothier, assigns to Richard Booth, of 
 Horton, clothier, his brother, a lease of " all that messuage in 
 Horton," occupied by the latter, with several closes of land 
 bought from Thomas Wood, temp. 33rd Elizabeth. By 
 another indenture, dated 1654, John Booth, yeoman, of 
 Horton, conveys to Henry Pollard, clothier, a house and 
 closes of land adjoining the lands of Thomas Swaine. The 
 whole of the property abutting on Horton Green, however, 
 has now been acquired by Mr. Francis Sharp Powell, who has 
 expended a considerable sum in improving the surroundings. 
 In addition to the families named as owners there have 
 been several tenants of long standing on the Green, whose 
 names are intimately associated with the locality. Taking 
 their residences in the order in which they stood on the north 
 side of Horton Green we look in at the old house next to 
 Horton Old Hall, associated in times past with the name of 
 John Booth. In 1802 the property belonged to James Swaine, 
 Booth being the tenant. " Skinny Booth " was the familiar 
 title bestowed upon this representative of the Booth family, 
 but he bore no relation to the Booths above referred to. The 
 appellation it would seem was justified, as Booth was a man 
 of most penurious propensities. It is said that his constant 
 Sunday morning amusement was to bring out his golden 
 guineas, pile them up on a table, and then knock them down 
 again to see how far they would spread themselves out ! After 
 his death the house in which he lived was found to be in a 
 sad state of neglect. It is a large, rambling building of the 
 early seventeenth century period, and although without family, 
 Booth occupied the whole. Most of the rooms, however, were 
 fastened up, some of them not having been entered for years. 
 When broken into the walls and ceilings were found to be 
 thickly festooned with cobwebs, and the formerly whitewashed 
 walls contained charcoaled scrawls of sums of arithmetic, the 
 names of persons owing him money, and " Skinny " Booth's 
 remarks upon the sin of not paying twenty shillings in the 
 pound ! John Booth was a farmer upon a small scale, but he 
 must have amassed wealth by other means.
 
 138 Rambles Round Horton. 
 
 Just behind Booth's house lived David Stephenson, 
 for twenty years steward to Mr. Bridges, who afterwards built 
 Stephenson Fold, Horton. It was his daughter, the present 
 Mrs. \Vm. Draper, who, as servant to Mr. Bridges, so 
 courageously withstood a gang of burglars that broke into 
 the Old Hall on a Sunday night in October, 1843. That was 
 a period when burglaries were very common in the neighbour- 
 hood. The Stephensons were very old inhabitants of Horton 
 Green. One of their houses, inhabited by John Stephenson, 
 was owned by Mary Balme, a descendant of the family of that 
 name to which reference has previously been made. Edward 
 Balme and John Balme subsequently became owners of the 
 property. 
 
 The little brick house adjoining John Booth's was built 
 by the Denton family, a member of which, named Samuel 
 Denton, married a sister of Samuel Cordingley, the steward 
 for the Bridges estate after David Stephenson. His son, Mr. 
 John Denton, is at present steward for Mr. F. S. Powell. 
 
 The substantially-built house situated nearer to Laistridge 
 Lane, and long occupied by Alderman William Moulson, has 
 doubtless an interesting history attaching to it, if stones and 
 oak panelling were communicative subjects. There is no 
 inscription either within or without the house, but the period 
 of its erection might be placed at fully two centuries ago. 
 In the Horton plan of 1802 the owner was Mrs. Hodsden, 
 of Horton House, an almost certain indication that it had 
 been the property and was perhaps a residence of the Lister 
 family of Horton, whose property Mrs. Hodsden (previously 
 the wife of Samuel Lister, Esq., the last of the name at 
 Horton) inherited. 
 
 Mrs. Hodsden's tenant in 1802 was Francis Ackroyd. 
 He was the head of a family which has done much towards 
 developing commercial industry in the neighbourhood. Old 
 Frank (colloquially " Frcnk ") was a worsted-piece maker, and 
 a member of the Independent congregation at Horton Lane. 
 He followed his trade at Horton Green in the fashion common 
 to the period, giving out work to neighbouring workpeople, 
 until he removed to a house on the site of which the Neptune 
 Inn, Bridge Street, was afterwards erected. Originally,
 
 Rambles Round H or ton. 139 
 
 however, we believe the Ackroyd family came from the 
 neighbourhood of Otley, in Wharfedale. 
 
 Frank Ackroyd had a numerous family of sons, all of 
 them men of some standing in commercial circles. Of these 
 were Joseph, Thomas, William, Francis, Cowling, and Robert 
 Stables Ackroyd. It is unnecessary to follow the fortunes of 
 the several sons. Suffice it that the second son Thomas had, 
 in the year 1817, erected for his occupation Mirypond Mill, at 
 Horton Bank Top, by Mr, E. C. Lister, of Manningham, 
 and there he continued the worsted manufacture until he 
 established the business at Birkenshaw Mills since carried on 
 by his sons. William, the third son of old Frank, went to 
 Otley, where he also founded a large manufacturing establish- 
 ment. Cowling Ackroyd was a prominent Hortonian for 
 many years, as we have had occasion to remark, he having 
 succeeded the Knights, of Great Horton, an equally notable 
 family. Robert Stables Ackroyd built the original Fieldhead 
 Mill, now the property of Alderman I. Smith. 
 
 Thomas Booth succeeded old Frank Ackroyd at his 
 Horton Green residence in the early part of the century. 
 Booth was also a piecemaker, and the large room of the old 
 house was occupied with handlooms, the " clickatty-clack " of 
 which was so familiar a sound in those days. A portion of 
 the house, however, was occupied by Thomas Waddington, 
 whose daughter Booth married. A brother of Isaac Pitman, 
 whose system of shorthand has since become of such repute, 
 was a schoolmaster at Little Horton, and lodged at Thomas 
 Booth's, finally marrying his daughter. He also taught 
 shorthand, then known as " stenographic sound hand." 
 
 Since the year 1848, however, the substantial old residence 
 in question has been wholly occupied by Alderman William 
 Moulson. The Moulsons have been connected with the 
 township of Horton since about the commencement of the 
 century. Originally they came from Emley, near Hudders- 
 field. From the first until now they have been connected 
 with the stone trade, either as quarrymen or builders, and in 
 that capacity have necessarily had a considerable share in the 
 construction of Bradford town. The first generation consisted 
 of three brothers — William, David, and George. They were
 
 140 RcDiibles Round H or ton. 
 
 fair specimens of the typo of Yorkshiremen left by our Saxon 
 progenitors. William and David lived in Planetree Fold, a 
 cluster of dwellings which has been swept out of existence 
 by railway operations ; the former subsequently building and 
 becoming the landlord of the Black Bull Inn at Little Horton. 
 George was unfortunately killed in a coalpit, and his son 
 John lost his life in 1825 during the erection of the 
 extension to Rand's Mill which overlooks the burial-ground 
 of old Horton Lane Chapel. The family is still strongly 
 represented in Horton. 
 
 There is a tolerably good house standing at the end of 
 the Green, with a barn attached, which has also its associa- 
 tions. At present, and for many years back, it has been the 
 residence of Mrs. Clark, a daughter of Abraham Balme, 
 formerly assistant-overseer of Horton, and a well-known 
 townsman. Judging by the inscribed stone over the doorway 
 the date of the erection of this house was 1755, and the 
 initials are F. S. There is also the chevron of the arms of 
 Sharp upon the stone. The erection must, therefore, be 
 ascribed to Faith Sawrey, the last lineal descendant of the 
 elder branch of the Sharp family. 
 
 The property, of course, passed to her successors, as is 
 confirmed by an indenture of lease made in 1789 between 
 Charles Swainc Booth Sharp, of Horton Hall, in favour of 
 Benjamin Kaye, cotton manufacturer and farmer, of " all that 
 messuage, kc, where Samuel Swaine did lately dwell ; also of 
 certain closes called Gooselands " (now forming part of 
 Horton Park). In 1807 Madam Sharp, widow of the above, 
 renewed the lease to Benjamin Kaye, who was succeeded by 
 Abraham Balme, his nephew. 
 
 The cotton manufacture, it would appear, was a con- 
 siderable industry in Horton about the beginning of the 
 present century, and Mr. Kaye was one of the largest dealers 
 in the trade. His workshops, since made into cottages, still 
 adjoin his former residence on Horton Green. He afterwards 
 removed his business to Allerton Hall, where it was conducted 
 on a larger scale, his waggons being always upon the road 
 between that place and Manchester, then as now the chief 
 market for cotton.
 
 Rambles Round Horfo/i. i4i 
 
 His nephew, Abraham Bahne, succeeded to the premises 
 at Horton Green, and was also a cotton-piece maker on a 
 somewhat extensive scale. He was a native of Wilsden Hill, 
 but when quite a youth came to Horton to learn the business 
 with his uncle. On the cotton trade declining, Mr. Balme 
 took up the making of worsted, but developed abilities for 
 parochial work which were for many years of service to the 
 township of Horton. As assistant overseer and in similar 
 capacities he enjoyed well merited respect, and on his retire- 
 ment was succeeded in the former position by Mr. Thomas 
 Myers. 
 
 The three-storeyed house opposite Abraham Balme's 
 was built by Samuel Swaine for his own residence, and in 
 which he carried on the cotton trade ; and in one portion 
 John Riley also made cotton pieces on a smaller scale. Two 
 of his sons were Joseph Riley and Edmund Riley, previously 
 referred to as assistants to Joseph Hinchliffe, of Horton 
 House Academy, and afterwards schoolmasters upon their 
 own account. Edmund Riley published in 1859 a small 
 volume of poems, comprising " Picciola, or the Prison 
 Flower," and a versified rendering of " The Lord's Prayer." 
 The little volume also contains an Allegory in prose. 
 Although faulty in composition, the poems afford indication 
 of a lofty imagination and an aspiration beyond the power of 
 poetic expression vouchsafed to the author. Mr, Riley also 
 published some very nicely written "Juvenile Tales," one of 
 which is founded on the story of " Fair Becca," the scene of 
 which he gives as Brackenhall Green. 
 
 Another old resident of Horton Green was John Blamires, 
 who resided at the farm near the end of Laistridge Lane. He 
 was also a farmer and piece maker, and was the first steward 
 employed upon the Bridges' Estate. Thomas Duckitt suc- 
 ceeded Blamires upon this farm, and occupied it for many 
 years. Still another well-known figure on the Green was that 
 of Robert Heaton, whose garden and orchard were pleasant 
 resorts in past times. Man}' other incidents might doubtless 
 be added in connection with some former inhabitants here 
 resident, but we must pass on to notice other places.
 
 142 Rambles Roinid H art on. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 The Old Red Lion— Holme Top— The "Old House at Home" — Horton Park — 
 Horton Mlla — The Cousen Family — Wm. Richardson— Todwell — Quaker Lane— 
 The Old Black Horse— The Hammond Family — Chapel Green — The Thorntons. 
 
 In immediate proximity to Horton Green stands the Old 
 Red Lion Inn — but not the building now known by that name, 
 as the original inn was of the humblest description, consisting 
 of one or two low rooms, with plenty of space around and in 
 front of it. In this condition it remained at the beginning of 
 the present century. The owner at that early period was a 
 Mr. Glenton, and the landlady, Mary White. The building 
 shortly afterwards had a storey added to it, and so remained 
 until the licence was transferred to the present building, 
 which is situate a little higher up Horton Lane. Mr. Joseph 
 Baxter then became the landlord, and his widow married 
 Robert Dunn, who was "mine host" in 1837, Mrs. Dunn 
 afterwards remov^ed to the Bermondsey Hotel, in Cannon 
 Street, Bradford, and at the latter place her name is associated 
 with the introduction of the music-hall element upon the 
 London plan into Bradford. 
 
 The good house at the lower corner of Holme Top Lane 
 was built by Mr. Jos. Barrans, farmer, horse dealer, and piece 
 maker. Barrans was a man of some substance, and belonged 
 to all the land upon which Holme Top Mills and other 
 property adjoining have been erected. The house at Holme 
 Top was afterwards purchased by Mr. Richard Denton, who 
 resided there, he being succeeded by Mr. Thomas Ackroyd, 
 of Mirypond Mill, Bank Top. 
 
 The house lower down Holme Top Lane was the 
 residence of " Dick Smith," who despite his familiar 
 appellation was in his time the largest worsted spinner in 
 Bradford. Mr. John Wood (of Wood & Walker's), Mr. 
 Thomas Clayton, Mr. Wm. Cousen, and Mr. Thomas Aked, 
 men of some standing in the early Bradford trade, all learnt 
 their business with Mr. Smith, who afterwards removed his 
 residence to Lower Burnet Field by an exchange with John
 
 Rambles Round H or ton. 143 
 
 Stowell. As previously intimated, " Dick Smith Mill " formed 
 the nucleus of the present extensive manufactory owned by 
 Messrs. Mitchell Bros., situate at the foot of Old Bowling Lane. 
 
 In the very old house at the upper corner of Holme 
 Top Lane lived John Clayton, and here by dint of patient 
 plodding and industry he brought up a family of thirteen 
 children. John was a small piece maker and kept combers, 
 and might have been termed in a fair way of business, as he 
 flourished at a period when a pair of looms and a " pot o' 
 four " for as many woolcombers constituted a respectable 
 stock-in-trade. He was one of the first to introduce mule 
 spinning by hand into Bradford, and in this capacity 
 employed a few hands. His sons were Joseph, William, 
 James, Thomas, and John Clayton, the two latter being both 
 well-known woolstaplers of Bradford. James Clayton was 
 somewhat eccentric, but an intelligent man. He was a good 
 mathematician and meteorologist, upon which latter subject he 
 wrote and published several pamphlets which are now very 
 scarce, besides many articles in the magazines of the day. 
 An earlier member of the same family gave the name to 
 Clayton Lane by the erection of a substantial house bearing 
 the initials J. C, and the date 1776. 
 
 Clayton's house at Holme Top is probably one of the 
 most ancient dwellings left in Horton. In deeds dated 1757 
 the building is called The Holme Top, and at that period was 
 the property of Joshua Stansfield, stuff maker, who carried 
 on his business there, besides owning three cottages adjoining, 
 tenanted by William Laycock, John Moulson, and Henry 
 Blackburn. Stansfield also owned closes of land known as 
 Bowling Mill Close, the South Field, the Ing, &c. Joshua 
 Stansfield was probably of the family of Robert Stansfield, 
 who married a daughter of the Rev. Thomas Sharp, of 
 Horton Hall, as evidence exists that the Bowling Close field 
 formed part of the Sharp estate, and was disposed of by Mr. 
 Powell to the late Sir Henry W. Ripley. The old house is now 
 the property of Mr. Michael Smith, and is about to be 
 cleared away. 
 
 On the opposite side of Horton Lane, however, there still 
 remains a building of antique construction, and of considerable
 
 I4:'j Raiubles Round Horfon. 
 
 interest on that account, which is well known as the ''Old House 
 
 at Home." It stands some little distance back from the Lane, 
 
 having an extensive frontage, with garden and open space in 
 
 front. There is also a pro- The windows are mul 
 
 I. S. 
 
 jecting porch, bearing the 
 following inscription : — 
 
 1669 
 
 Honed, and the interior of 
 the house bears evident 
 
 indication of its having been the residence of a gentleman. 
 There is a stupendous fireplace in the kitchen. 
 
 Tradition has generally ascribed the erection of this 
 remnant of past times to Isaac Sharp, the younger brother 
 of Thomas Sharp, of Horton Hall, and that it was what was 
 termed the "dower" house of the family. It is probably the 
 building alluded to in Thomas Sharp's will, dated 1693, 
 described as " his house and land at Holme Top," which were 
 bequeathed to his son John when he came of age. If this 
 hypothesis be correct, it becomes a question difficult of 
 explanation why the property should have passed into the 
 liands of the Listers of Manningham. In 1753 the land 
 surrounding it belonged to Robert Stansfield, drysalter, who 
 married Miss Sharp, and was farmed by Jacob Hudson, who 
 lived at the house. Jacob afterwards purchased the old 
 homestead knov/n as the " Skinhouse." 
 
 In the hands of Mrs. Lister, however, the property was 
 during the township survey of 1802, John Jowett being then 
 the occupier; and it was purchased by Mr. Powell some 
 years ago of Mr. John Cunliffe Kaye, brother of Mr. S. C. 
 Lister. One of the former occupants of the " Old House at 
 Home" was Tom Firth, a carrier. William Jowett and John 
 Crabtree, of Shipley, also farmed the land afterwards, but for 
 some years the building has been divided, one portion being 
 occupied by Mr. Benjamin Sugdcn as an inn bearing the 
 above " homely " sign. 
 
 Directly opposite to this house is the Horton Moravian 
 Chapel, a neat little structure, of comparatively recent erection. 
 The chapel was opened on December 28, 1838, at a cost of 
 about i^700, one of the most active promoters having been 
 the late Joseph Hinchliffe, of Horton House Academy. 
 Although involving what would be considered nowadays a 
 very moderate responsibility where the erection of a place of
 
 Rambles Round Hoytou. 
 
 145 

 
 146 Rambles Round Horton. 
 
 worship is concerned, it was by no means a small undertaking 
 that the Horton Moravians entered upon ; but they were 
 supported by gentlemen like Mr. Henry Leah and others, and 
 came through the ordeal. The neighbourhood at that time 
 had a growing population, but comparatively neglected in the 
 provision of places of worship. Additional school-rooms 
 have since been erected in the rear. The history of Horton 
 Moravianism, however, dates from a much earlier period than 
 the year 1838, the original place of meeting havmg been in 
 Paternoster Lane, Great Horton, to wh.ich reference will 
 subsequently be made. 
 
 Holme Top Mill was built by John and Squire Stowell 
 in 1835. The two brothers had previously been in partnership 
 with Thomas, John, and Francis Mitchell at a little factory in 
 Manchester Road ; when Mr. Tom Mitchell retired and went 
 into partnership with Mr. Geo. Turner at " Dick Smith Mill," 
 which after Mr. Smith's death had stood empty a while. 
 Holme Top Mills were afterwards occupied and became the 
 property of the late Alderman S. Smith, of Melbourne Place, 
 and his brother Michael, and of late years have been let off 
 to tenants. 
 
 ^ Holme Top has given birth to at least one family of 
 more than ordinary note. Nathaniel Hulme, M.D. and F.R.S., 
 and Joseph Hulme, M.D., were both born at Holme Top. 
 They were the sons of Mr. Samuel Hulme, some time 
 minister at Kipping, Thornton. Joseph Hulme was educated 
 for the ministry, but afterwards studied medicine, and practised 
 at Halifax, where he died in 1806, in his ninety-second year, 
 a skilful physician and very rich man. His brother Nathaniel 
 was born in 1732, and graduated at Edinburgh in 1765. He 
 became physician to the Charterhouse, one of the most 
 desirable preferments in the profession, and was admitted a 
 Fellow of the Royal Society in 1794. His death occurred in 
 1807, having been caused by a fall from the top of the 
 staircase in his house to the basement. 
 
 What is now called Horton Villa, the residence of Mr. 
 John Harper Mitchell, was at one time the abode of a family 
 which has produced members of more than ordinary ability 
 in the artistic world. James Cousen, formerly a woollen
 
 Rambles Round Hoj'ton. 147 
 
 draper in Ivegate, lived there in the early part of the century, 
 succeeding James Mann, the former owner, who had married , 
 his daughter. Cousen afterwards resided at Boldshay Hall 
 and at Miryshay, where he joined the firm of Rawson, 
 Clayton & Cousen, coal merchants, and died at Miryshay in 
 1844, leaving a family of six sons and two daughters. Of 
 his sons several were engaged in the Bradford trade, while 
 others became eminent in art work. 
 
 John Cousen, who was born in 1804, was articled when 
 about fifteen years of age to the celebrated John Scott, the 
 animal engraver. During his pupilage he evinced consider- 
 able talent, and at its close was engaged by the Messrs. 
 Finden to assist them in the various publications then 
 illustrated by them ; but after three or four years spent in 
 their service his beautiful work in landscape engraving 
 attracted the attention of other publishers, from whom he 
 accepted commissions on his own account. He engraved 
 many charming plates after Turner, Stanfield, David Roberts, 
 and others, his " Mercury and Herse," after Turner, the 
 " Victory towed into Gibraltar," and " The Morning After the 
 Wreck," after Stanfield, are among his most important works. 
 He also engraved the frontispiece of the " History of Brad- 
 ford," drawn by his brother Charles, and a few other local 
 works. In all his work he displayed a refined taste and 
 artistic feeling such as have not been exceeded by any other 
 engraver of his time, his most exquisite taste being perhaps 
 best displayed in his small book plates after Turner, which are 
 full of artistic feeling and playful execution. Mr. Cousen was 
 very retiring and unassuming in his habits and manners, and 
 was much esteemed by those who had an opportunity of 
 knowing him. In consequence of poor health he retired from 
 the practice of his art about twenty years ago, and died at 
 South Norwood, Surrey, on December 26, 1880, in his 
 seventy-seventh year. 
 
 Charles Cousen was born in 18 13, and was a pupil of his 
 brother John. He also acquired a considerable portion of 
 his brother's excellence besides exhibiting characteristics of 
 his own, combining to some extent figure with landscape 
 engraving. He is still engaged in the pursuit of his art, the
 
 148 Rambles Round Horfon. 
 
 last surviving member of his family. The engraving of 
 Bierley Hall in the " History of Bradford " is from his 
 pencil, in addition to the drawing of the frontispiece already 
 referred to. 
 
 William, the oldest son of James Cousen, was a 
 manufacturer, and in 1819, in conjunction with his father, 
 he completed the erection of Cross Lane Mill, Great Horton, 
 commenced by Eli Sudderds, which he occupied for some 
 years. He married for his second wife Phcebe, only daughter 
 of Samuel Blamires, jun., and built a house near the mill for 
 his residence. By this marriage Mr. Cousen acquired the 
 property of this branch of the Blamires family. His son by 
 his first marriage is the present Mr. James Cousen, lord of 
 the manor of Horton. All the Cousen family w^ere remarkable 
 for their stature, and their father used to say that he had 
 " six-and-thirty feet of lads." 
 
 It may be added that Horton Villa, which is quite ar 
 modern title, was for some time the residence of Mr. W. 
 Chapman Haigh. The adjoining farmhouse was inhabited 
 by Mr. William Richardson, professor of natural philosophy 
 and an accredited lecturer of the Society of Arts. For many 
 years Mr. Richardson was identified with this neighbourhood 
 as a scientific lecturer, and in his especial walk it may be said 
 that he has left no successor in this part of the country. He 
 was a self-taught man, having had but the humblest chances 
 in early life, and took an especial delight in instilling into 
 others a love of scientific knowledge. He had consequently 
 many disciples, who revered him as a father. In addition to 
 his ability in the art of instruction, Mr. Richardson was a 
 practical workman, having made all his own scientific 
 apparatus, besides others sent to all parts of the kingdom. 
 He was also a fluent exponent of dramatic literature, and 
 a rich conversationalist on most subjects. Mr. Richardson 
 was a native of Brookfoot, near Brighouse, and died at 
 Southowram, in June, 1878, aged seventy-three }'ears. 
 
 In immediate proximity to Horton Villa is the spacious 
 ground of the Bradford Cricket and Athletic Club, situate in 
 Park Av^enue, which in capacity and appointments is not 
 surpassed by any similar ground in England. The land
 
 Rambles Round Hart on. i49 
 
 belongs to Mr. F. S. Powell, from whom a lease of fourteen 
 years was obtained in February, 1879. This lease, however, 
 only referred to about eight and a-half acres, but in February, 
 1884, an additional one and a-half acres were taken in, 
 making the present area of the ground about ten acres. The 
 ground is divided into cricket and football sections, with 
 large pavilions, grand stands, and other appointments. The 
 procuring of this ground points to a very critical period in 
 the history of cricket in Bradford. When the Bradford Old 
 Cricket Club were obliged in 1875 to give up possession of 
 the field in Horton Road (their predecessors having in like 
 manner been ousted from a former ground now the site of 
 Claremont), they knew not where to look for another suitable 
 spot. Fortunately, by the friendly co-operation of Mr. F. S. 
 Powell, the present site at Park Avenue was obtained, and 
 it is not too much to state that, by the successes of the cricket 
 and football sections of the club combined, " Park Avenue " 
 is a locale known favourably throughout England. It should 
 be added that the promoters are much indebted to Mr. J. 
 Harper Mitchell for generously giving up a portion of his 
 grounds in order that the quantity of land required, both 
 for the original and subsequent requirements of the club, 
 might be obtained. 
 
 Horton Park was opened in May, 1878. In extent this 
 popular resort for recreation is about forty acres, and included 
 in it is a spacious cricket ground, detached from the Park. 
 Including the laying-out, &c., it has cost the ratepayers of 
 Bradford about ^42,000. The site was obtained by throwing 
 together a number of fields forming separate properties, and 
 some negotiation was requisite in order to bring the whole 
 together in park-like form. Several fields constituting an 
 area of seventeen acres, and comprising Low Close Farm, 
 were purchased from the Bower family for ^{^3000. The 
 Well Close House Estate, comprising twelve acres, was 
 purchased from Noble's trustees for ^10,212. A purchase, 
 comprising over seven acres, was made from Mr. Thos. Firth 
 for ;^7o68 ; and a further sum of ;^648o was paid to Mr. 
 Gamble for about seven acres of land. In conducting these 
 negotiations, and in carrying forward the movement generally.
 
 150 Rambles Round Hortoii. 
 
 it will be by no means invidious to mention the name of 
 Alderman John Hardaker as a principal. Although not 
 opened until the year 1878, the initiatory proceedings in 
 connection with Horton Park were taken at the Council 
 meeting held in May, 1870, wlien it was decided to purchase 
 Manningham Park, and on the same occasion a promise was 
 extorted from the Council that similar parks should also 
 be provided for Horton and Bowling. On the occasion 
 referred to, a powerful appeal was made for public recreation 
 grounds by the late Alderman Mark Dawson, who with great 
 appropriateness quoted the Cowperian lines — 
 
 A breath of unadulterate air, 
 The glimpse of a green pasture, how they cheer 
 The citizen, and brace his languid frame. 
 
 Horton Park is 630 feet above sea level, and 300 feet above 
 the level of Market Street. It is needless to state that as a 
 place of public resort the park is largely frequented ; the 
 display of greenhouse and other flowers being during the 
 season a great attraction. Mr. Michael Lander has been the 
 head gardener from the formation. 
 
 The next object attracting attention is the building 
 known as Mount Carmcl Chapel, opposite the entrance to 
 Horton Villa, erected in 1836, by John Parkinson, for the 
 Gospel Pilgrims. Mr. Parkinson was one of the old Bradford 
 booksellers, a business in which he was engaged for nearly 
 fifty years. After leaving Little Horton he removed to Hull, 
 and thence to Colne, in Lancashire, where he still continued 
 the business until his death in i860. On his removal to 
 Hull Mr. Parkinson joined the Primitive Methodist Society, 
 amongst whom he laboured as a local preacher until his 
 decease. Mount Carmel Chapel, however, has had an 
 unfortunate history, having been degraded into a workshop 
 and for other purposes. It has now reverted to uses more 
 in harmony with its former design, having become a mission- 
 room of All Saints' Church. 
 
 On the ojDposite side of the lane leading from Park Lane 
 may be seen a portion of the buildings formerly used as a 
 coai-stafth by the Low Moor Company. In the days when 
 railways were unknown, and coal was generally carted from a
 
 Rambles Round Horton. i5i 
 
 distance for domestic use as well as for the requirements of 
 the rising worsted trade, the coal-staiths of the Bowling and 
 Low Moor Companies were a convenience, as the stores were 
 brought comparatively near the consumer by means of tram- 
 ways or waggon-roads. Such a tramway brought Low Moor 
 coal from the pits at Brownroyd Hill and Wibsey to Little 
 Horton, and from thence it was carted to all parts of the 
 town by the company's vehicles. The stables of the company 
 were consequently extensive. The agent in charge was Paul 
 Bairstow, who lived upon the spot, and was a great man in 
 the neighbourhood, with which his family had been long 
 associated. Briggella Mills, the property of Messrs. John 
 Briggs & Sons, occupy a portion of the site of the old staith 
 and tramroad. 
 
 Tod (or Toad) Well Farm, opposite, is an old homestead, 
 associated with the Knight family. In 1753, John Knight 
 was the owner and occupier ; and in 1800, Isaac Knight, his 
 son, a carrier and farmer, the progenitors of the Knights of 
 Great Horton. William Cass, constable and overseer of 
 Little Horton, for many years lived in the lane leading to 
 Todwell. A very old house, belonging to the elder Sharp's 
 estate, is situate just above Todwell, the land being farmed 
 by Joseph Bennett. Immediately above comes the Dclph 
 Hole or Barley Fold, the site of which was waste ground in 
 the township survey of 1802. Abutting upon it was Clough 
 House, the residence of James Clough, quarry owner, who 
 built a number of the cottage houses in the neighbourhood. 
 He died in 1871, at ninety years of age. The maltkiln in 
 Barley Fold is associated with the name of Jonas Jowett, 
 maltster, also of those of Stockhill and Green. The extra- 
 ordinary feat of building a house in a day and sleeping in it 
 at night, in order to acquire a title, was accomplished on this 
 bit of waste ground. 
 
 Skirting Todwell Farm is Quaker Lane, which by sundry 
 bends emerges in Southfield Lane. Although little more 
 than an occupation road it is probably one of the oldest 
 bypaths in Horton, and from its retired position was chosen as 
 an appropriate place of burial by the early Bradford members of 
 the Society of Friends. From an examination of the society's
 
 152 Rambles Round Horton. 
 
 burial registers, it would appear that the first interment at the 
 Quaker Lane burial ground was made in the year 1656, and 
 was that of one Thomas Judson. Between that period and 
 1699 twenty-six interments took place in the above ground, 
 the last being that of the body of John Appleyard, of Bowling. 
 
 The following is a list of some of the names of Quakers 
 buried at Horton, with the dates of interment, viz. : — 1656, 
 Thos. Judson ; 1658, Richd. Thornton ; 1660, Grace, wife of 
 Jas. Marshall, Bradford ; 1664, Esther, wife of Robt. Birkby ; 
 Thos. Kitchen, Bradford ; Dorothy, wife of John Verity, 
 Wibsey ; 1665, the wife of Zachary Yewdall ; 1667, Jeremy, 
 son of Wm. Croasdale, Bradford ; 1668, Sarah, wife of Jonas 
 Bond ; Hannah, daughter of William Cook ; Mabel, wife of 
 Moses Sykes ; 1669, Susannah Judson ; Thos. Hird, Bradford ; 
 1670, Elizabeth, daughter of John Winn ; 1671, Mary Hillas ; 
 1673, Mary Verity, Thos. Parker, Thos. Kitchen, and Jacob 
 Winn ; 1681, Martha, daughter of John Jowett ; 1683, John 
 Verity, Wibsey ; 1684, Robt. Birkby, Wibsey ; 1692, John 
 Jowett, Bowling ; 1696, Ann, wife of John Appleyard ; 1697, 
 Sarah, wife of Isaiah Verity ; 1699, Paul, son of John 
 Harwood, Bradford ; Edward Wood, Great Horton ; John 
 Appleyard the elder. Bowling. Elizabeth Winn was the 
 daughter of John Winn, the persecuted Quaker preacher. 
 
 The first interment at the Quaker burial ground at 
 Goodmansend was that of Matthew Wright, who gave the 
 ground, and, strange to say, was the first to be laid in it. 
 That was in the year 1672, so that Quaker burials at 
 Horton were continued for some time after the Goodmansend 
 ground had come into use. It is even said that within 
 the recollection of old inhabitants of Horton living at the 
 beginning of this century interments were occasionally made, 
 and they were understood to be the bodies of suicides, buried 
 at midnight. However, the ground belonged to the Quakers 
 in 1830, and was purchased from them by John Hardy, a 
 small quarryman, who erected his present house upon the 
 site. In making the excavations he found abundant evidence 
 of the sacred uses to which it had been devoted. 
 
 Continuing our ramble to the top of Horton Lane we 
 pass the Old Black Horse Inn, famous in the days of
 
 Rambles Round Hortoii. 153 
 
 " Wibsey weddings " during the time when there were many 
 colliers in the district. The landlady at that day was Pal 
 Hammond, or " Hawmond," who when the orgies of her 
 customers were at their height often asserted her authority in 
 a manner to astonish even the rough collier lads. Pal was a 
 match for her customers otherwise than physically. Being 
 " plain of speech " and an adept in her native Doric, she was 
 not backward in giving any one a " bit of her mind " when 
 occasion required. Nevertheless, Pal was a good-hearted 
 woman, and was admirably suited to her position. She had 
 a fine old oak bedstead in the parlour, elaborately carved, the 
 envy of many, and for the use of which an extra charge was 
 made to newly-married couples who spent the commencement 
 of the honeymoon at the Black Horse. In the days of 
 Chartism this inn was used by the patrols of special con- 
 stables during their midnight rambles in search of men 
 drilling. The usual meeting hour was one a.m., when warm 
 ale and oatcake were in readiness, and acceptably partaken 
 of, it being rough work patrolling the high lands during 
 winter time. 
 
 The family of Hawmond is of very old standing in 
 Horton. As early as 1379 two members of the family appear 
 in the poll-tax of Richard H. That they were landholders, 
 and as such acquired grants of land from the adjoining wastes, 
 is evident from the following and other documents, viz. : — 
 
 December 11, 15 10. — Oswald Leventhorp, son and heir of Robert 
 Leventhorp, lord of Horton, grants to Gilbert Hawmond one piece of 
 land 2i acres, lying on the moors of Little Horton, to wit, on the south 
 side by land belonging to Chris. Rawson, and on the east side of the land 
 of \Vm. Field, of Great Horton. To hold the same on his payment of 
 lod. in silver at the Feasts of St. Martin and Pentecost, in equal portions. 
 — Witnesses, Richd. Tempest, Esq., Thos. C^elles, John Field. 
 
 1538. — Indenture between Richd. Wilkinson, of Bradford, clothier, 
 and Miles Hawmond, of Little Horton, yeoman, whereby the latter 
 conveyed to Wilkinson thirty-three roods of arable land in the X ether- 
 field of Horton, and Kyrswellcliff in the township of Little Horton, in 
 the tenure of the said .Miles Hawmond and Thos. Byrkby. 
 
 In Sir John Maynard's valuation of the tythes of Horton in 
 1656, Jonas Hammond is credited with two oxgangs of land. 
 In 1708, by indenture, William Hawmond, of Little Horton,
 
 154 Rambles Round Horton. 
 
 joiner, for the sum of ;^20 mortgaged to Abraliam Sharp, the 
 mathematician, " all that field called the Flatt, containing 
 2-^ days' work, then in the occupation of Jonathan Rhodes, 
 and adjoining to lands late the inheritance of Mr. Thos. 
 Sharp on the south and east, upon laixl belonging to Mr. 
 Samuel Lister on the north, and on the lane leading from 
 Bradford to Halifax on the west, paying yearly to Wm. 
 Hawmond the rental of one red rose in the tyme of roses (if 
 the same be demanded), and no more or other rent." From 
 the description given above, the Flatt close adjoined the 
 old Black Horse Inn, which was probably an hostelry at 
 that time. The Hammonds of Bradford are of this family, 
 among the present representatives being Mr. Benj. Hammond, 
 whose generous gifts to his relatives recently found expression 
 in a substantial form ; also his nephew, Mr. Ezra Waugh 
 Hammond, of Horton Hall. 
 
 In the rate-books of 1839 certain fields at Brownroyd 
 are called by the following Wibsey-Iike names: — Back o't 
 House, Top o't Hill, and Maiden Brigg Slack. Brownroyd 
 Fold has been long the abode of the family of Greenwood, 
 Paul Greenwood residing there in 1800, and he succeeded his 
 father. The property, however, belonged to Mr. Joseph 
 Stocks, who disposed of it to the Low Moor Company. The 
 Greenwoods were farmers, scavengers, and horsekeepers, 
 leading much coal for the above company, The family had 
 also farms at Miryshay and Calverley^ Paul was a Moravian, 
 and generally entertained the preachers who came from 
 Fulneck to officiate at Chapel Fold, at Brownroyd Hill, and 
 at Paternoster Lane, Great Horton. His well-known figure 
 was regularly present at both places, and after becoming 
 stricken with blindness he was frequently led to his favourite 
 places of worship. Paul's son John succeeded him at 
 Brov/nroyd Fold, and the family is still resident there. 
 
 The neighbourhood of Chapel Green and Thornton Lane 
 would doubtless furnish material for continuing this paper if 
 well explored. We have, however, alrcad\- alluded to the 
 interesting subject of the first Presbyterian meeting-house 
 situate at Chapel Green. A very old homestead in Thornton 
 Lane called Thorns has recently been pulled down. The
 
 Rambles Round Norton. 155 
 
 property belouged to Hutton's trustees, and formed part of 
 Lady Hewley's Charity land, the proceeds of which were 
 distributed among several Dissenting congregations in the 
 neighbourhood, among them being those at Kipping and 
 Eccleshill. Mrs. Clark, a daughter of one of the Thorntons, 
 resided at Thorns Farm for some time. 
 
 Chapel House, still standing, bears an initial stone 
 denoting it to have also been a residence of the Thorntons, 
 a favourite Christian name of this family being Jeremiah. 
 The will of Jeremiah Thornton, of Little Horton, was proved 
 in April, 1749, his son being Wm. Thornton, who purchased 
 in 1755 a close of land called Thornton Lig of Wm. Dixon, of 
 Bowling. His son, Jeremiah Thornton, was- a man of 
 substance in the latter part of the last century, and was a 
 stuffmaker. He died in 1780, leaving three sons, Jeremiah, 
 John, and Joseph, all stuffmakers. He left property in 
 Horton, Bowling, and Bradford, comprising a messuage in 
 Horton, occupied by William Stonehouse and Marmaduke 
 Pighills, and four closes of land, called the Ing, the Horse 
 Close, the Far Close, and the Moore Close ; also messuages 
 in Bowling, with closes called the Castle Hill and Thornton 
 Ing, and coal mines. John Bakes and William Shaw were 
 old tenants of Chapel House, which is generally associated 
 with the site of the old Presbyterian Meeting-house. Several 
 old cottages, called Lincey Fields, situate in Thornton Lane, 
 were pulled down some years ago.
 
 156 Rambles Round Horton. 
 
 chaptl:r XIV. 
 
 Southfield Lane — The Open Field System of Land Tenure— Haycliffe Hill — The Old 
 Bradford Waterworks— Beldon Hill — Horton Bank Toj) — Hollingwood Lane — 
 Horton Bank Bottom. 
 
 The neighbourhood of Southfield Lane and Haychfife 
 Hill is not without its interest. Although but sparsely 
 populated, compared with some portions of the township, it 
 has been the abode of Horton families of long standing, 
 albeit they may have been little known outside their several 
 circles. For the most part they belonged to the small 
 yeoman class, farming bits of poor land and eking out a 
 subsistence by the aid of the spinning wheel or shuttle. The 
 remaining population comprised colliers employed in the pits 
 of the neighbourhood, who resided in one-storeyed cottages 
 of the humblest exterior appearance, but which gave an 
 amount of shelter and warmth in that high-lying region that 
 was sought for in vain in two-storeyed or " chaymer-height " 
 houses. 
 
 Southfield Lane, otherwise called Saughfield or South- 
 gate, has evidently derived its name from the custom 
 prevailing in ancient times, when land was held and tilled in 
 common, namely, the " open-field system," illustrated in a 
 recent paper read by Mr. Lister, of Shibden Hall, before the 
 members of the Bradford Historical Society. Of the existence 
 of this primitive mode of tenure Mr. Lister found conclusive 
 evidence in the neighbouring township of Wibsey. Under 
 this system the cultivated land was situate in various parts 
 of a township, known as the North-field, the South-field, 
 &c., and was divided into narrow strips or " lands," of an 
 acre, half-acre, or rood in extent, parted from each other by 
 green balks of unploughed turf When instead of being 
 arable they were strips of meadow, they bore the name of 
 " doles." A fieldway or " gate " admitted to the common 
 field, and in those portions which were in pasture there was 
 also the right to " gates " for feeding oxen. Corners of fields 
 not shapely enough to be divided were called " butts."
 
 Rambles Round H or ton. 157 
 
 In old deeds frequent mention is made of tlie South-field 
 of Horton. Thus, by indenture bearing date March, 1619, 
 Thomas Cook, of Bradford, yeoman, sells to Wm. Booth, sen., 
 clothier, of Horton, and Wm. Booth, jun., his son and heir, 
 " all those three closes called the South-field, in Horton, now 
 in the tenure of Elizabeth Gledhill." In like manner we read 
 of Two Lands, Nine Lands, the Southern Half-acres, Broad- 
 dole, Cross-butts, &c., several of which have reference to land 
 in Horton " on the north and east side of a hill called 
 Haycliffe." Probably a knowledge of the names of closes of 
 land in the neighbourhood of Haycliffe or Southfield Lane 
 would suppl}' additional testimony of the existence of the 
 open-field system in Horton as well as in Wibsey. 
 
 At Close Top Farm, Southfield Lane, John Smith, 
 grandfather of the present occupier, employed many hand 
 woolcombers, and made tops for the trade around Great 
 Horton. Cragg Farm belonged in 1800 to Mr. Gorton, having 
 been previously a portion of the Brooksbank estate, and was 
 occupied by Samuel White, who not only followed the 
 occupation of farming, but was the shoemaker for the 
 district. The land upon which New Harrogate is built 
 formerly belonged to this farm. Benjamin Knight, the cotton 
 spinner, bought the property of Mr. Gorton, and on his 
 bankruptcy the late Mr. George Hadfield, once a candidate 
 for the Parliamentary representation of Bradford, took pos- 
 session of Cragg Farm, it was said, for the legal expenses 
 incurred by Knight. A portion of the land has turned out 
 valuable, the Bradford Brick and Tile Company having 
 opened it out for brickworks. 
 
 Ha}-cliffe Lane has been for generations the residence 
 of a branch of the Swaine family previousl}- alluded to, who 
 were owners of small portions of land adjoining their tene- 
 ments. In the survey of 1839 occur the names of William 
 Swaine, Joseph Swaine, and John Swaine ; also of Kalema 
 Gledhill, Samuel Wilson, Samuel Haigh, F. S. l^ridges, 
 and Hird, Dawson & Hardy. Messrs. Jos. Stocks, John 
 Tommis, John Booth, and Joseph Nichols were previous 
 owners of land at Haycliffe. Some of the houses on 
 Iia)'cliffe Hill were rebuilt about the jear 1839. The little
 
 158 Rambles Round Horton. 
 
 Wesleyan Reform Chapel in Haycliffe Lane only dates from 
 the year 1875. 
 
 It may not be generally known to the present generation 
 of Bradfordians that the first waterworks company of Bradford 
 obtained its supply from Haycliffe Hill. The old watercourse 
 indeed is still running, and supplies several properties yet. 
 The company's water was obtained from a " sough," or coal 
 drain, in the hill, and was conveyed in a goit to the field 
 behind the " Old House at Home," where there was a trough, 
 and from thence the water was conveyed in lead pipes to 
 a small reservoir situate near " Judy Barrett's " shop in 
 Westgate. 
 
 From a plan of the works drawn for the proprietors in 
 1753 by John Smith, of Manningham, we gather that the 
 fountain-head of the supply was situate in Squire Leedes's 
 land at Haycliffe ; that the water passed through Joseph 
 Stocks's land, occupied by John Nicholls ; was brought down 
 through Robert Stansfield's land at the corner of South- 
 field (or Saughfield) Lane End, through lands owned by 
 Samuel Lister extending from Southfield Lane to Todwell 
 Farm, where the company's water again entered Stansfield's 
 land at Horton Green. Continuing past Richard Gilpin 
 Sawrey's grounds at Horton Hall, the pipes were taken 
 in a line with an old occupation road which skirted the 
 side of what was formerly known as Hailstone's Park, crossed 
 the bottom of Melbourne Place, and emerged in Horton Road 
 near the site of the present Vicarage. From that point the 
 water-pipes dipped towards the valley, crossed the beck and 
 goit, and thence were carried forward to John Street, 
 Westgate, where the reservoir was placed. 
 
 The supply, however, was only scanty, and much con- 
 tention arose, not only along the line of route, in consequence 
 of the attempts made to divert or impound the water in a dry 
 time, but also at the Westgate terminus. At this point there 
 was a tap for supplying those in the neighbourhood, and 
 frequent " rows " occurred in determining the question — 
 " Whose turn next } " 
 
 In 1790 the proprietors, consisting of Richard Sclater, 
 James Smith, John Hardy, Sarah Ward, and John Crosley,
 
 Rambles Round Horton. 159 
 
 became incorporated by Act of Parliament, but not without 
 much opposition from an influential section of the community, 
 whose interests were said to be jeopardised by what were 
 called the " unreasonable and oppressive " clauses of the Act. 
 The orig-inal undertakers of the works being in 1790 all dead, 
 their shares were transferred to other parties. The two shares 
 of Squire Leedes were, under his bankruptcy, sold by his 
 assignees to Mr. John Hardy for ;^39 per share, and that 
 gentleman was the principal promoter of the application to 
 Parliament. There were only ten shares in the undertaking, 
 three being held by Richard Sclater, and three by James 
 Smith. Sarah Ward had one, John Crosley one, and John 
 Hardy two. The application was opposed on the part of the 
 inhabitants by Benjamin Ferrand, Samuel Lister, Isaac 
 Hollings, George Barber, Dawson Humble, Francis Bridges, 
 and Richard Hodsden ; but the Act was passed. The subse- 
 quent history of the Bradford Waterworks has no immediate 
 connection with the history of Horton. 
 
 A large quantity of coal was obtained between the years 
 1830 and 1 841 from the hillsides extending from Haycliffe 
 along Beldon Hill to Cliffe Valley, much of it having been 
 carted for the supply of the mills and dyehouses around 
 Horton and in the neighbourhood of Thornton Road. The 
 coal on Pickles Hill, Crag Hill, Crag Valley, and on the upper 
 side of Cliffe Mill was better-bed coal, and was worked by 
 Squire Tordoff and George Mortimer, who also got the coal 
 in a very large field, called Moor Field, betwixt Pickles Lane 
 and Crag Valley, and most of the coal on the Haycliffe side 
 of Beldon Hill. The coal around Haycliffe Hill was worked 
 by Joseph Knight, and was that known as " black bed," the 
 ironstone having been got out by the Bowling Ironworks 
 Company many years before. 
 
 Joshua Slingsby, Robert Britcliffe, Abraham Brewer, 
 Abraham Bolton, Charles North, and Messrs, Ramsden and 
 Co. have also got coal under several fields in the same 
 neighbourhood. " Better bed " coal sold in 1840 at 7s. per 
 ton. After the coal which would pay for getting had been 
 removed, the pit hills were levelled by test labour during the 
 depressed times of 1847-8.
 
 160 Rambles Round Horton. 
 
 A portion of the land about Beldon Hill at one time 
 belonged to the Booth family, previously alluded to as 
 large landowners in Horton. There was also a William 
 Beldon, who owned and farmed his own land, but it would 
 appear that the hill derived its name from Benny Beldon, his 
 predecessor, who also owned and farmed a few closes. The 
 old name for Beldon Hill was Upper Haycliffe, and Haycliffe 
 Hill was called Lower Haycliffe. 
 
 An old farmhouse on Beldon Hill, divided into two 
 tenements, and now the property of Mr. Wm. Ramsden, is 
 worth inspection as affording a sample of the squat, 
 substantial erections intended to withstand the elements 
 in exposed positions. One portion is occupied by Mina 
 Wilkinson, and another by old Benny Priestley. In " old 
 Benny's" comfortable domicile will be found a singular 
 combination of old-time and modern luxuries — to wit, a fine 
 carved oak bedstead, fully three centuries old, and a splendid 
 trichord pianoforte of most approved construction, upon 
 which the best of classical and sacred music is played to a 
 select but appreciative audience on certain days. The little 
 garden plot in front also contains one of the best collections 
 of pansies to be found in the neighbourhood, the great 
 altitude notwithstanding. 
 
 The Priestleys have lived a very long time upon Beldon 
 Hill and Pickles Hill, there being several families of this 
 name. The Tordoffs, Wilkinsons, and Shepherds have also 
 resided upon these hills for generations. It may be noted, 
 too, that the denizens of these high-lying parts of Horton are 
 very clannish — a peculiarity which may be found more or 
 le.ss in Hortonians generally. 
 
 The public gardens on Beldon Hill have been a favourite 
 resort for over forty years. They were first laid out by 
 Richard Townend — musical instrument maker, whose shop 
 formerly adjoined the Old Foundry in Tyrrel Street — and 
 were kept by him for nearly ten years, but have been occupied 
 by the present tenant for thirty years. They are generally 
 known over the country side as " Tom Hardy Gardens." 
 The views from the gardens are very fine and the air is 
 especially bracing.
 
 Ranib/es Round Hart on. i6l 
 
 There is a higher altitude than Bcldon J I ill, however, in 
 Horton, namely, Reevy Beacon Mill, which is 975ft. above sea 
 level. Being in the line of connection with Beacon Hill at 
 Halifax and Beamsley Beacon, near Addingham, there is 
 little doubt that it derived its name from the uses to which 
 this elevated spot was put in the disturbed times of the 
 Scottish invaders, intimation of whose approach was made b}- 
 means of beacon fires lit upon the most suitable elevations 
 that could be found. 
 
 Holdsworth is a verj- old name in connection with these 
 parts. From the subsid}- roll, dated Ma}', 1608, it appears 
 that Georgius Holdsworth was taxed for lands held b\- him 
 in Horton, of the annual value of 20s., for which he paid 
 2s. 8d. We have before us a receipt, dated June, 1687, given 
 by Alice Holdsworth, daughter of Richard Holdsworth, 
 deceased, of Shelf, to Matthew Holdsworth, of Reevy, and 
 Gilbert Brooksbank, yeoman, of Horton (doubtless executors 
 under the will of her father) for her " childe-portion " and the 
 legacies bequeathed her by her father. It was a Jeremiah 
 Holdsworth, who occupied Miss Thornton's land in the 
 immediate localit}-, that ga\'e the name to "Jer Lane." 
 
 In Beacon Lane once stood a number of low cottages 
 called Miry Pond, from the nature of the ground. Hence 
 came the name of Mir\' Pond Mill, now owned b\' Messrs. 
 Thomas Priestley & Co., but first erected for Mr. Thomas 
 Ackroyd, to whom reference has been made. 
 
 At Nettleton Fold, in Jer Lane, are two old houses, the 
 initials on one being I. S. L., and dated 171 1 ; on the other 
 R. T., 1701*. The owner of the first named was in 1800 
 W'illiam Oliver, and the tenant William Nettleton. The 
 property was bought by Mr. Fllis Cunliffe Lister, and has 
 passed into the possession of Mr. William Ramsden, who has 
 acquired much property b}- purchase in the localit}'. Miss 
 Thornton was the owner of the one erected in 1701, where 
 Joshua Smith lived, and where Francis Barraclough has 
 resided for over half a century. Jer Lane Old School was 
 erected bv subscription in the vear 1822, for the use of the 
 neighbourhood, and was conducted for man}- }'ears until his 
 death by an able mathematician and master, John Benn who
 
 UV2 Rambles Round Hoyfon. 
 
 was entirely self-taught. Many persons who have risen to 
 influence in the neighbourhood were indebted to Mr. Benn for 
 their education. The Horton Bank Top School, erected by 
 the Congregationalists in 1881, has superseded the old school 
 for religious services, while the excellent Board School at 
 Horton Bank, opened in August, 1874, supplies elementary 
 education. 
 
 From an old survey and other documents we gather that 
 the Jowett family, of Horton, were considerable owners of 
 land and tenements in the higher parts of Horton during the 
 latter half of last century. About 1760 Jeremiah Jowett, by 
 his last will, bequeathed to his younger son, James, " all that 
 messuage, with outbuildings and lands, &c., belonging thereto, 
 in the occupation of William Topham, and all those two 
 cottages in the occupation of John Ellis and Samuel Mires, 
 paying unto Jonas Jowett, his eldest son, the sum of forty 
 pounds within one year after the decease of the testator." 
 Jeremy Jowett, the first of the family settling in Horton, 
 originally came from Buttershaw, in North Bierley. His sons 
 were Jonas o' Jeremy's, who lived at Beldon Hill ; John 
 Jowett, of Bank Bottom, whose grandson, Joshua, died in his 
 eighty-fifth year, in Stephenson Fold, in 1885, having resided 
 in that dwelling for seventy years. Charles Jowett, of Bank 
 Bottom, was also a son of old Jeremy. All the family were 
 handloom weavers. 
 
 At the corner of Cooper Lane there once stood several 
 very old houses, with large gardens attached, owned and 
 occupied by a family named Lister. The present buildings 
 were erected on the site. Miss Thornton owned the Hare 
 and Hounds Inn, kept in 1800 by Charles Parker, and he was 
 succeeded by William Tordoff, who was the landlord for 
 many years. Below the Hare and Hounds there were two 
 old farmhouses, since removed, one owned by John Holds- 
 worth, the other by Samuel Waterhouse, or " Watress." 
 
 Near the top of Hollingwood Lane there is a place 
 called "Cockpit Hill," from the circumstance of its having 
 been a place of resort for cockfighting. Another meeting- 
 place for the same purpose was at Ikacon Hill. Upon one 
 of the cottages at Cockpit Hill are the initials j "^ M. ^^'^^ ^^^^
 
 Ranib/cs Round Hoy foil. im 
 
 date 178 1. It was the residence of one of the Moldsworths 
 ah'eady noticed. Further down Horton Bank there is a 
 sundial over a grocer's shop kept for a long time by William 
 Swaine, inscribed T. H. (for Holdsworth; and the date 1827. 
 The motto is — " Time flieth swiftly avv^ay." Tradition has it 
 that Hollingwood Lane obtained its name from the holly 
 hedges which once abounded in the neighbourhood. The 
 Horton legend of " Fair Becca," whose unfortunate history 
 lingers in the immediate locality, affords evidence in corro- 
 boration, as the story goes that " she would come ageean 
 while 'holly grew green.'" If holly was once so plentiful 
 in Hollingwood Lane it must have fallen a prey to an 
 impregnated atmosphere, or more likely to the whittling 
 knives of " knor-and-spell " players, who spared no holly 
 bush large enough to afford material for their " knors." The 
 following indentures testify to the name of Hollingwood 
 being of very long standing : — 
 
 1623. — Thos. HoUings by deed poll granted to John Midgley all his 
 interest in the close of land called Hollinwood, estimated ai four acres, 
 situate in Horton, adjoining upon one great close called Clayton Pasture 
 on the west, by lands in the occupation of Gregory Fox on the east, by 
 the lands of Edd. Brooksbank on the south. 
 
 Ronr. ILLINGWORTH, Attorney. 
 
 168 1. — Indenture between John Mortimer, of Hollinwood, and 
 Richd. Mortimer, of Boiling, his brother, wherein John conveys to his sons 
 John and Richard all his interest in a close of land called Hollinwood. 
 
 JOSHUA StANSFIELD, K^j^^^^^^^^_ 
 
 Isaac Broadi.ev, ) 
 
 Isaac Broadi.ev, 
 
 The Drop Farm belonged at the beginning of the 
 century to Richard Holmes, John Wilkinson being the tenant. 
 His family had ]i\'ed there a long time. The farm has now 
 dropped out of existence, the site being occupied by Horton 
 Bank Reservoir. The last tenant was named Birkby. 
 
 In the upper part of Horton and about Tanner Hill 
 and Hollingwood Lane the Fox family owned and occupied 
 property. In 1738 a close of land was called " Gregory Fox 
 Close," in the then occupation of John Ramsden. One 
 Gregory Fox lived at the roadside cottage in Pasture Lane, 
 where Tanner Beck joins Bulgreave Beck. His son was named 
 William Fox,
 
 164 Rambles Round Hoyfoii. 
 
 At Tanner Hill Farm, or Hollin House, the initials 
 A. N. and G. N. existed, the date being 1666. The house 
 was rebuilt in 171 1 by some owner whose initials 
 were J. H. probably answering for John Haley. In 1801 
 Jonathan Fox was the owner, and Samuel Holmes the 
 occupier. The premises were afterwards occupied by Abm. 
 Bairstow and John Holmes. Two old houses have been 
 pulled down at Tanner Hill recently, the date of one of them 
 being 1560. It is said that a tannery existed here at one 
 time, and hence came the name. Paddock Dyehouse was 
 founded by Abm. Bairstow, of Hill End, who was a character 
 in Horton in his day. His son John, and son-in-law, John 
 Holroyd, carried on the works, and afterwards Holroyd and 
 Buckle, until the erection of Horton Dyeworks. Of two farms 
 at Hill End, one belonged to Jonas Jowett, the other to 
 Joseph Wardman. Joseph Cawthra and Saml. White were 
 once occupiers, afterwards VVm. Fox and Abm. Bairstow 
 became the owners. 
 
 Paradise Farm belonged to John Haley, a calico weaver, 
 who attained his ninetieth year. It was purchased from Mr. 
 Joshua Pollard and Mr. Paley, of Bowling Ironworks. David 
 Mortimer, a respected townsman and octogenarian, has since 
 acquired the property, and still resides upon it. Solitary, the 
 name of an adjoining farmstead, formed part of the Ashton 
 dole land, Daniel Dracup being for a long time the occupier. 
 
 What is known as Horton Bank, or the New Road, 
 from Bank Bottom to Bank Top, was formed about the )'ear 
 1807. The old road still exists, although in a much inproved 
 condition to that in which it was when a portion of the 
 highway and coachroad from Bradford to Halifax. In the 
 olden times, when the Highflyer and Defiance coaches were 
 pulled up the steep ascent by four and sometimes by six 
 horses, it was in a shocking state. The road was very 
 narrow, not permitting of more than one vehicle going along 
 at a time. It was indented by deep ruts, and horses have 
 been known to fall dead with the exertion required to pull up 
 the coaches. It was not so bad for pack-horses, accustomed 
 to highways which in these days of highway authorities would 
 not be tolerated.
 
 Rajiiblcs Roiuid Hovtou. i6o 
 
 About half way up the Old Road there stood an old 
 hostelry, called the Three Blue Bells, said to have been 
 the oldest inn within many miles. The building consisted of 
 two wings and a central portion, and doubtless afforded all 
 the accommodation required for man and beast. The last 
 landlord who kept it as an inn was Robert Fox. The licence 
 was afterwards removed to the house belonging to the 
 Blamires family, a little higher up the road ; subsequently to 
 the lane end, where it was known as the Dog and Gun, and 
 was kept by David Armitage, a noted sportsman. It 
 afterwards became the Crown Inn. The premises known as 
 the old hostelry in Old Road still stand, but in a very 
 dilapidated condition, and, with the farm land adjoining, 
 belong to Mr. F. S. Powell. 
 
 The old homestead at Bank Bottom appears to date 
 back to about the year 1600, and at one period must have 
 been a residence of some standing in Horton. In 1763 
 Joseph Pollard bequeathed the property to his son Joseph, 
 but he does not appear to have resided there, as he was a corn 
 miller, and lived at Shuttleworth Hall, Fairweather Green. 
 He was, however, an extensive property owner in Horton. In 
 1 78 1 Joseph Pollard sold it to Joshua Crabtree, of Shiple\-, 
 Samuel Swaine being at that time the occupier. 
 
 In 1787 Dr. Joshua Walker appears to have acquired the 
 property. Dr. Walker was for twenty-five years physician to 
 the Leeds Infirmary, but was a native of Bradford, residing in 
 Wakefield Road. By his will, dated 181 3, he bequeathed the 
 property to lidward Jowett, of P21tofts, Leeds, James Swaine 
 being at that period the tenant. James Swaine belonged to 
 the old Horton family of the name, and lived to a very great 
 age. It is said that while in his ninety-sixth year he followed 
 the plough. He died about 1820 in his ninety -seventh year. 
 His sons were — James, of Ha\'cliffe Hill ; (iilbert, landlord of 
 the George and Dragon Inn ; and John, who had a son. 
 William Swaine, a grocer in Xew Road. Another brother of 
 old James was named Samuel. 
 
 In 1837 the Bank Bottom farm became vested in Alary 
 Leatham, daughter of Dr. Walker, and Edward Jowett, of 
 Leeds. After James Swaine the farm was occupied b)' Isaac
 
 166 Rambles Round Horton. 
 
 Waddington, John Gaunt, and William Watson, the property- 
 having been acquired by William Murgatroyd, of the Heights. 
 From the latter it was purchased by' the present owner, Mr. 
 John Ramsdcn. 
 
 Pickles Hill derived its name from a man named Pickles, 
 a horse jobber, who lived at a farmhouse since pulled down, 
 but which stood on the site of the new farmstead built by 
 Messrs. Ramsden.
 
 Rambles Round Hovtou. 167 
 
 C H A r T i<: R X V. 
 
 Horton Magna- -The Blainhcs Family— John Wade— Hew Clews— " Fair Becca" — 
 The Horton " Guytrash "—Bracken Hall — The Ramsden Family — Horlon Old 
 Corn Mill— The Beanlands— Hodgson Old Hall. 
 
 A glance at an old plan of Horton Magna, as Great 
 Horton was styled in olden times, would show that very few 
 houses existed there at the beginning of the present century. 
 Beyond a few dwellings built anyhow on Upper and Lower 
 Green, at Old Todley (the site of Broadbent's Mill), at Salt 
 Pie and Town End, and detached tenements, generally 
 fringing the sides of the high road from Bradford to Halifax, 
 there were few buildings. Several lanes and "folds" branched 
 from the main road, but not a single street, except that formed 
 by the "row" of houses, latterly known as "Knight's Fold," 
 then belonging to Mary Brooksbank. From the end of 
 Southfield Lane, and continuing for some distance, there was 
 a large space of common land called " Great Horton Green," 
 including what is now known as Low Fold, which was 
 approached on the north side by Paternoster Lane, probably 
 one of the most ancient thoroughfares in Horton. An 
 almost equally large open space was known as the Upper 
 Green. How it has come about that the open spaces of 
 common land in question have become covered with dwellings 
 is a problem we cannot solve. 
 
 Standing near the highway, and at a short distance from 
 Cliffe Mills, is one of the best examples of the farming class 
 of homestead in Horton, that known as Blamires' P'arm, 
 or " Luke's." It was the homestead of one of the most 
 numerous and respectable families of Horton, although 
 latterly the property has passed into the hands of Mr. 
 William Ramsden. The earliest reference we find to the 
 Blamires family is in the township rolls of North Bierley, 
 where they were numerously represented as early as 1660. 
 A hundred years later, while still retaining property in North 
 Bierley, the family would appear to have become settled in 
 Horton, as is proved by the will of Joseph Blaymires, of
 
 168 Rambles Round Hoyion. 
 
 Horton, dated 1760, who devised to his grandson, Joseph 
 Blaymires, " all that messuage, with several closes of land in 
 VVibse)-, in the occupation of Jeremy Blaymires, his son, and 
 two other messuages in Wibsey inhabited by Samuel Wood 
 and Rachel Blaymires," with annuities to his son Jeremy and 
 his daughters Martha, wife of Samuel Kellitt, Mary, wife of 
 John Stocks, Ann, wife of John Wilkinson, and Grace, wife 
 of John Thornton. By agreement dated Februar}', 1759, the 
 above Joseph Blaymires leased to Samuel Kellitt, of Wibsey, 
 a dwelling-house, situate in Wibsey, and four closes of land 
 for the term of three years, at a yearly rental of £6 los. 
 
 Our next evidence is that of the will of Luke Blamires, 
 butcher, of Horton, dated 1789, wherein he bequeathed to his 
 sons, Joseph, Samuel, and William, the messuages, lands, &c., 
 in his possession in Horton, conditional on their paying to 
 Martha Driver, his daughter, the sum of ;i^io per year during 
 her lifetime, and the sum of £200 to her children. Luke 
 Blamires died in 1794, aged eighty-one. 
 
 His sons, however, appear to have become owners of 
 property by their own industry, as by deed of conveyance 
 dated 1780, Joseph Pollard, of Fairweather Green, re-leased 
 to William Blamires, of Horton, four messuages in Horton, 
 formerly occupied by Jonas Blamires, John Smith, John 
 Smithies, and Wm. Crosley, and at the date of transfer by John 
 Blamires, Wm. Mires, John Crosley, and Isaac Wilkinson, also 
 one close of land called The Croft, for the sum of ^250. In 
 October, 1791, also, John Loxley, clothdresser, of Wakefield, 
 conveyed Gledhill Croft to Joseph Blamires, butcher, of Great 
 Horton. 
 
 Samuel, .second son of old Luke Blamires. kept the 
 King's Arms Inn, in Great Horton, besides being a butcher, 
 and died in 1818. His sons were Samuel and John. John 
 was a butcher and cattle dealer, and at one time kept the 
 Granby Inn at Queenshead (now Oueensbury;, afterwards 
 removing to the Packhorse Inn at Bradford. Samuel lived 
 in Cross Lane, Horton. It was his daughter, Sally Blamires, 
 who many years ago gallantly repulsed a gang of burglars 
 wIkj attempted to break into the house in Cross Lane. 
 Mr. William Cuuscn married another daughter of Samuel
 
 Raiiibles Round Hoy ton. loy 
 
 Blamires, named Phcebe, and by the marriage obtained 
 much property. 
 
 William Blamires, youngest son of old Luke, seems to 
 have been the most substantial member of the family. Like 
 his father and brotliers, William was also a butcher, and at 
 one time had his shop in Kirkgatc, Bradford. He also 
 possessed the family peculiarity, that of being somewhat 
 " close-fisted " and intent on gain, and the story is told of 
 him that, when hard driven by a bargaining customer over a 
 joint of beef, he would point a skewer in the direction of the 
 old Piece Hall, remarking at the time, " I don't get tJiat at 
 it ! " Unsuspecting purchasers naturally supposed that by 
 his action William meant the skewer, while in reality he had 
 in mind the Piece Hall building ! 
 
 By dint of much hard work, however, William Blamires 
 acquired considerable land in the upper portion of Horton, 
 his residence being the old homestead referred to, owned by 
 his father Luke, and his grandfather. He died in 1829, aged 
 eighty years. By his will, dated 1827, he bequeathed the old 
 homestead and six closes of land to his eldest son John. To 
 Luke, his second son, a messuage in Old Road, with several 
 fields adjoining. To his son Timothy (who had the reputation 
 of being the strongest man in Horton), five cottages at Hew 
 Clews and two closes of land. To his daughter Lydia, wife 
 of Thomas Myers, he bequeathed Low Fold Croft and four 
 cottages ; and to Elizabeth, an unmarried daughter, two closes 
 of land. Through its descendants the Blamires family is still 
 well represented in Horton. 
 
 His^h Street is also associated \\ith the familv of Wade, 
 of whom one member is deserving of honourable mention in 
 these records. John W^ade was a good type of the Horton 
 character, plodding and industrious, firm in principle, public- 
 spirited, and a pattern of uprightness in all his dealings. He 
 was a native of Paradise Green, where he was born in 1799, 
 the son of humble parents. By dint of steady industry and 
 thrift, however, he became in 1829, when a young man, a 
 small employer of hand-loom labour, in the making of all-wool 
 plainbacks, shalloons, &c., the staple articles of the then 
 Bradford trade. He after\\ards emplojcd steam power, at
 
 170 Rambles Round Horton. 
 
 Dracup's Mill, Cliffe Lane, but ultimately got into the wool 
 trade, which he continued until his death. For nearly fifty 
 years he was one of the most regular attenders at Bradford 
 market, and few men could better trace the development 
 of the worsted trade from its infancy to maturity. Not- 
 withstanding his attention to business, he was one of the most 
 active men in the affairs of Horton, having a particular 
 aptitude for public business. He served as churchwarden for 
 many years at Bell Chapel, and also filled the position of 
 poor-law guardian, and town councillor. The contest in 
 Nov., 1850, in which Mr. Wade was opposed by Mr. Samuel 
 Dracup, is still remembered as one of unusual keenness. He 
 also dispensed the Ashton Dole for a period of ten years. 
 Although warmly attached to the Episcopal form of worship, 
 Mr. Wade was a thorough Liberal, and never flinched from 
 upholding his views. His death occurred on January 6, 1876, 
 in the seventy-seventh year of his age. 
 
 Hew Clews, in Cliffe Lane, is a name recalling several 
 points of interest to Hortonians. As to the correctness of 
 the spelling we have only conjecture to guide us. It may be 
 either Hew, Ewe, Yew, or Heugh with equal correctness, 
 although the form given above is generally adopted. " Clew," 
 from the Saxon Cleow, is usually understood to be either a 
 ball of twine, a guide, or a direction. At any rate, the little 
 colony of Hew Clews is a distinctive part of Horton, and 
 probably among the oldest settlers upon it was the family of 
 Myers, formerly spelt Mires. A female of this name, whose 
 daughter married John Shepherd, attained her 102nd year, 
 having been born at Hew Clews. William Blamires had 
 acquired this property as early as the beginning of the present 
 century. John Hanson and his family farmed Hew Clews 
 I"'arm for above a hundred years, the property belonging to 
 Richard Hodgson, of Whetley. 
 
 Stories are told of the natives of Hew Clews and Ben 
 Hill, of a character not in accordance with accepted notions 
 (jf civilisation. It is said, for instance, that for about half a 
 dozen cottages which stood on Ben Hill there was only one 
 oven, which was used in common, and that a solitary spoon 
 served alike the six families. Another .storv is told of
 
 Rinnbles Roiutd Horton. 171 
 
 vSammy Rouse, who, having slept all clay, aroused his spouse 
 with the exclamation, " Sharah, t'world's coining tuv an end, 
 for t'sun's risen t'wreng side o' t'hahse ! " 
 
 The most popular legend in connection with Hew Clews, 
 however, is associated with the story of " Fair Becca," who 
 came to an untimely end at the hands of her sweetheart. 
 This heartless swain lived at Hanson Farm, " Fair Becca " 
 residing in one of the old cottages which until recently stood 
 opposite the entrance to Cliffe Mill. As the legend goes, the 
 sweetheart appeared one morning before Rebecca's cottage 
 mounted as for a journey. Dismounting, he told her to array 
 herself in bridal apparel, as he intended taking her to the 
 kirk to be married. Rebecca delightedly obeyed, and was 
 soon equipped, when they rode away in the direction of 
 Wilsden, she mounting behind him on the double saddle ('the 
 fashion of the period^. He then put his plan into execution. 
 Near a lonely lane they had to traverse at Old Allen were 
 some old disused pits, and, riding to one of the most remote, 
 ho told his companion to prepare for death, as he was going 
 to throw her down. Rebecca pleaded for mercy, but he, 
 disregarding her entreaties, galloped round the pit, and 
 tried to throw her off the horse ; Rebecca clinging to him 
 desperately, he had to ride round three times ere he could 
 effect his purpose, his victim shrieking at every attempt. 
 The third time he succeeded in flinging her into the pit. 
 When the deed was accomplished the murderer seems to 
 have suffered pangs of remorse. Before he died he made a 
 full confession of his crime, and the corpse of Rebecca was 
 found, fearfully mangled, at the bottom of the pit. 
 
 Long, long afterwards the spirit-form of " Fair Becca " 
 was said to wander in the neighbourhood of Hew Clews and 
 Hollingwood Lane, in confirmation of her dying words, that 
 " she would come ageean as long as holly grew green." Her 
 name was a great scare in Horton, as may be imagined ; but 
 although the legend was religiously believed to be true, " old 
 inhabitants " generall)- were slow to affirm that they had ever 
 seen her. Latterh-, her non-appearance is accounted for by 
 the fact that she had been " flayed awaj' ' by- the whirr of the 
 machincr\- at Cliffe Mills.
 
 17-2 Rambles Round Norton. 
 
 The Horton " Guytrash " was another boggard in our 
 young days, and generally took the form of a " great black 
 dog," with horrid eyes. Horton Lane, Legrams Lane, and 
 Bowling Lane, now Manchester Road, seemed to be particu- 
 larly chosen as favourable places for its ramblings, and many 
 are the tales told of this " Guytrash " being seen there. The 
 late I'2dmund Riley, of Horton Green, used to tell the story 
 of a well-known and staunch Independent of the old school, 
 who resided at Horton, and was going home one night about 
 the " witching hour," when, as he was passing the gates of 
 Horton Hall, he was startled in his meditations by something 
 jumping at his heels. He looked round, and, sure enough, 
 there was the " great black dog." He made his way home, 
 as fast as he could, and when he got there either fainted or 
 was near doing so. The next morning he was told that Mr. 
 Sharp (who inhabited Horton Hall) had died just about 
 the time he was passing and saw the " Guytrash." In its 
 ramblings the " Guytrash " was said to go about with chains 
 rattling round it, and sometimes without ; but as it has never 
 been heard of since the town was incorporated, it is supposed 
 to have become jealous of the policemen, and so has left the 
 neighbourhood for ever. 
 
 Bracken Hall and Holly Bank, situate in Hollingwood 
 Lane and Cliffe Lane, are the modern-built residences of 
 Mr. Wm. Ramsden and Mr. John Ramsden, the energetic 
 proprietors of Cliffe Mills. The former occupies the site of 
 a farmhouse long tenanted by John Bennett and his family, 
 and alluded to in the will of the Rev. Thos. Sharp, of Horton 
 Hall, dated 1693, as "all my house and lands at Breckin 
 Hill, Great Horton," which he becjueathed to his daughter, 
 Elizabeth. The property belonged to the Giles famil}-. 
 successors of the Sharps, until purchased by Mr. William 
 Ramsden. Holly Bank is an entirely new residence standing 
 in an elevated position, and, like Bracken Hall, is surrounded 
 by thriving plantation.s. 
 
 The name of the Ramsden family will long be honourably 
 associated v»ith the commercial history of Horton from the 
 enterprise displayed by the present representatives, who from 
 a humble beginning have built up an extensive business
 
 Rambles Round Hortcvi. 173 
 
 concern, and have become considerable propert}' owners in 
 Horton. The family sprang from Upper Green, where John 
 Ramsden, grandfather of Messrs. William and John Ramsden, 
 was a plodding, industrious carpenter and dealer in timber. 
 His sons were Thomas, Joseph, Jonathan, and James, all 
 of whom were engaged in similar av^ocations at Great 
 Horton. Since their acquisition of the Cliffe Mill property 
 Messrs. Ramsden have much enlarged the premises, which 
 are now among the most extensive in the neighbourhood. 
 
 There are grounds for assuming that so earl}' as 131 1 
 there was a soke corn mill at Horton, as the Lord of Horton 
 in those early times amerced some of his tenants for grinding 
 their corn at the mill at Bradford. In the Hopkinson MS. 
 it is recorded that Thomas Foxcroft held Horton Mill of the 
 lord of the manor, Thomas Foxcroft, of Kebro}-d, Sowerby, 
 died 7th September, 36 Henr}- YHI. (1545), seised of one 
 messuage and forty acres of land, meadow, and pasture, and 
 of one " water mill " in Great Horton, and of a fee farm or 
 annual rent of 46s. 4d. out of certain lands and tenements 
 in " Lytle Bollyng," which were held of John Lacey, of 
 Cromwellbotham, by knight service and rent of 6s. Richard 
 Foxcroft was his son and heir. 
 
 The descent of the manor from the Lacies to the later 
 branch of the Horton family has been previously traced. 
 When Sir Watts Horton died, and the manor fell to Captain 
 Rhyss, the manorial property was brought to the hammer in 
 1858, Mr. Wm. Cousen purchasing the lordship, including the 
 building known as the Manor House, the pinfold, the "lord's 
 rents," &c., and Mr. Samuel Dracup the old corn mill, farm, 
 and water rights connected therewith. Upon an outbuilding 
 of the mill there were the initials I. CM., and the date 1668. 
 The old mill has been partially rebuilt. The water-wheel 
 supplied from the adjoining dam is also comparatively 
 modern, although doubtless occupying its old position. There 
 were .several roads from Horton and Clayton down to the old 
 corn mill, one of which is still known in the neighbourhood 
 as the " Cat Steps." 
 
 Long before the manorial property left the hands of the 
 Hortons, Joseph Beanland was the tenant of Horton old
 
 174 Rinnbles Round Hart on. 
 
 corn mill. He was a corn miller and colliery proprietor 
 at Fairweather Green, and belonged to a Heaton family. 
 Joseph Beanland was a man of some enterprise. In addition 
 to running the old mill he erected for the purposes of his 
 business a corn mill at Beckside, besides a worsted mill in 
 Cliffe Lane for his sons-in-law, Samuel Hellewell, Joseph 
 Wilkinson, and Edward Knight. Robert Fox was the miller 
 at the old mill under Beanland for many years. 
 
 Joseph Beanland had a son John, who assisted him 
 at the old corn mill, and when he married succeeded his 
 father, the old man going back to reside at Shuttleworth 
 Hall. The affairs of the Beanland family were unfortunatel)- 
 thrown into Chancery, resulting in much of their property 
 being sold at a sacrifice. Beckside Corn Mill, with three 
 closes of land, barn and about a dozen cottages, although 
 not Beanland's property, shared a similar fate, having been 
 purchased for an " old song " by Samuel Dracup, after 
 the mill had stood unoccupied for some time, and after 
 being considerably enlarged and adapted to the worsted 
 manufacturing business was let to Messrs. John & Robert 
 Turner and others. Messrs. W. & J. Pilling formerly occupied 
 the corn mill, in addition to Sams Mill. 
 
 At a short distance from Beckside Mill there stood 
 upon the brow of the neighbouring hillside two very ancient 
 tenements, which have only recently been taken down. One 
 of the houses stood at the bottom of Pleasant Street, and was 
 known as Hodgson Old Hall. The other was situate beneath 
 the Wesleyan Chapel burial-ground near to Cow- wells. 
 Both were of very antique construction, with high pitched 
 gables, massive chimneys, long, low mullioned windows, 
 and oaken doors and panelling. The initial stone removed 
 from the old house at Cow-wells has been built into the 
 embankment wall close by, and contains the letters T. S., and 
 the date 1620. 
 
 For upwards of a century this house was occupied by 
 a family named Smithies. The initial S., however, had 
 reference to the owner named Sugden, as is borne out by an 
 indenture dated May 3, 1697, reciting that "whereas Robert 
 Sugden, of Horton, by his will dated November 9, 1686,
 
 Ra/ub/cs Round H art on. 
 
 175 
 
 OQ 

 
 176 Rambles Round Horfon. 
 
 devised to Isaac Rollings, of Rorton, and Thomas Pighills, 
 yeoman, all that messuage in Horton in the occupation of 
 Grace Smithies, in trust to be disposed of for the benefit 
 of his children." In discharge of this obligation the 
 trustees sold the messuage, &c., to Robert Swayne. The 
 indenture is witnessed by Robert S\va}'ne and Samuel 
 Swa\'ne. The inscrip- I i and the date 1654. It 
 
 tion upon Hodgson Old _ a is said that John Wesley 
 Hall contained the initials ! preached from the horse- 
 
 steps that formerly stood in front of the house. This building 
 belonged to the Swaine family, Susannah Swaine being 
 set down as the owner in the township survey of 1801, and 
 John Hodgson as the occupier. Hodgson was a bachelor, 
 and had for many years another bachelor named Robert 
 King residing with him. Both were of a careful turn, as is 
 evidenced by the fact that whenever old Hodgson had a load 
 of coals to deliver Robert King followed behind to pick up 
 any straj* "cobbling" that fell from the cart. The propert}- 
 at the period of its demolition belonged to Mr. W. H. Fox, 
 of Skipton.
 
 Rambles Round H art on. 177 
 
 • CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 The Rrooksbanks of Horton— Gilbert Brooksbank— The Charnocks— Old Todlc)'— 
 Harris Court Mill— Cowling Ackroyd— J. ). Broadbent — "Spectacle" Wood- 
 Doctor Thomas — Edward Cockerham— Hunt Yard — The Legend of the Wild 
 Boar— Low Green— Hall Yard. 
 
 One of the most important families in Horton Magna 
 during the seventeenth century was that of Brooksbank. 
 The name meets the eye continually in the records of the 
 period, and the Christian name of Gilbert appears to have 
 been a favourite one in the family, as it was continued during 
 several generations. In the Subsidy Roll of 1608, Gilbert 
 Brooksbank was assessed upon lands in Horton of the annual 
 value of 20s., the same man having in 1602 been complained 
 of along with others for enclosing waste land in Horton. 
 This offence was, however, by no means uncommon at the 
 period. In 1675 a Gilbert Brooksbank, yeoman, of Horton, 
 proved the last will of Richard Brooksbank, of Oxheys, 
 Norwood Green, he retaining the document in his own pos- 
 session under a bond of £^0 to produce it to Sir Wm. 
 Horton, lord of the manor, when required. It was doubtless 
 this Gilbert who paid the hearth-tax, levied in 1666, for two 
 hearths or fires at his homestead in Horton. Still continuing, 
 we find a Gilbert Brooksbank assessed in the Horton land-tax 
 of 1704, and paying the largest amount of any landowner 
 in Horton township, the Sharps, Listers, or Mortimers not 
 excepted. 
 
 The existence in Great Horton of several residences of 
 more than ordinarily substantial appearance, all bearing the 
 initials of Gilbert Brooksbank, testifies to the standing which 
 the family bearing this name had in Horton, and, with 
 other circumstances to be subsequently referred to, justifies 
 a somewhat extended record of the family history. 
 
 The earliest of the Brooksbank houses in point of 
 
 date is the building known as the old " Four Ashes Inn," 
 
 situate at Primrose Hill, and now the residence of Mr. 
 
 James Akeroyd. On 1 1 and on the outer porch the 
 
 the lintel of the house '^^' \ initial B, and the date 174^. 
 
 1674 . . 
 
 is the inscription | The building long used as 
 
 M
 
 178 Rambles Round Horton. 
 
 a tanhouse by the beck side at Primrose Hill was also a 
 residence of the Brooksbanks. Other two residences are 
 standing in the upper part of Horton. That now tenanted 
 by Mr. John Denton , It is a good example of 
 
 opposite to Broadbent's -,7^0 ^ gentleman's residence 
 
 Mill, bears the inscription ! 1 of the period, and at the 
 
 date of its erection would form a prominent feature in Great 
 Horton. It has latterly become the property of Mr. F. S. 
 Powell, Mr. Denton being his agent. Closely adjoining is 
 the King's Arms Inn, which bears the above initials and 
 the date 1739. 
 
 The inference drawn from these facts will probabl}- 
 be that this substantial family, including a succession of 
 Gilbert Brooksbanks, originally lived at Primrose Hill, and 
 subsequently erected the two houses at Great Horton, the 
 more pretentious building becoming the family residence. 
 This inference is borne out by the will of Gilbert Brooks- 
 bank, of Great Horton, gent, proved in 1763, wherein he 
 devised to his niece Rebecca, wife of Jonas Atkinson, clerk, 
 late of Tong, the mansion at Great Horton, wherein he 
 resided, and two tenements occupied by Timothy Stocks 
 and John White ; also four other dwelling-houses occu- 
 pied by Joseph Sutcliffe, Jeremiah Robinson, Samuel 
 Holdsworth, and Joseph Wilkinson. The will was attested 
 by Gilbert Brooksbank, jun., and John Hill, a Ikadford 
 physician. 
 
 The subsequent disposition of the family mansion is 
 shown in an indenture bearing date 1779, and reciting that 
 whereas a marriage was proposed between Richard Gorton, 
 of Salford, merchant, and Elizabeth, daughter of Rebecca 
 Atkinson, " all that capital mansion at Great Horton, then 
 in the occupation of Joseph Swaine, also three fields called 
 the West Croft, the Moorfields, and the Stunsteads ; also the 
 messuage lately occupied by Timothy Stocks, and the three 
 closes called Stoney Lands, Upper Stunstead, and Crooked 
 Royd ; also the large Cragg where the Quarry is, the Ing or 
 Coal Pit Close," were released to John Hill and Samuel 
 Lister in trust for the use of the young children of Richard 
 Gorton and his wife Elizabeth.
 
 Rambles Round Norton. 
 
 179
 
 ISO Rambles Round Norton. 
 
 Residents of Great Horton will have no difificulty in 
 identifying the closes named. The more complete description 
 of the Brooksbank property comprised fourteen messuages, 
 eight barns, eight stables, eight orchards, and lOO acres of 
 land in Great Horton and Stanbury. Stephen Parkinson 
 purchased Stoney Lands, and upon the site erected some of 
 the houses at Summerseat Place. 
 
 Richard Gorton died intestate in 1816, leaving a son 
 John and six other children ; and in July, 1821, by indenture 
 bearing that date, his trustees sold to Benjamin Knight, 
 cotton manufacturer. Great Horton, " all that mansion 
 recently occupied by Joseph Swaine, also the West Croft, 
 Stunsteads, &c.," for the sum of ;!{^2 5oo, ;^2000 of which was 
 borrowed on mortgage from Edward Ferrand, of St. Ives, 
 John Gorton, and John Lambert, the two latter being trustees 
 of the Gorton estate. 
 
 The ultimate proprietorship of the family residence of 
 the Brooksbanks is bound up with the broken fortunes of 
 Benjamin Knight and his brother John, who were made 
 bankrupt in the year 1826, when the mansion and other 
 hereditaments were seised by the Commissioners in Bank- 
 ruptcy, and became the property, subject to the above 
 mortgage, of Messrs. Cbas. Harris and the partners of the 
 Old Bank, who were the largest creditors upon the bankrupt 
 estate. It would appear that the King's Arms property was 
 sold in 1827 to Mrs. Trout, of Bradford, and ultimately came 
 by will to the Rudd family, who sold it in 1878 to the 
 Bradford Corporation for the purposes' of street improvement 
 for the sum of ;^5ooo. 
 
 The above recital, interesting and conclusive though 
 it be, deals only with a portion of the property formerly 
 belonging to the Brooksbanks. The family, as may have 
 been gathered, was numerous, and, although for some reason 
 the family mansion in the higher part of Horton passed from 
 the male heirs as early as 1763, other possessions remained in 
 the hands of the Brooksbanks. The family were also con- 
 nected with the Barracloughs of Horton, and by marriage 
 the latter were allied to the Charnocks, who have acquired 
 much of the property formerly held by the Brooksbanks.
 
 Rambles Round Hortoii. 181 
 
 This wc gather from an indenture dated June, 1797, reciting 
 that a marriage was intended between Mary Barraclough, 
 spinster, of Manningliam, and James Charnock, incumbent 
 of Haworth, and that the former " stood seised of the 
 reversion expectant on tlie decease of Mary Brooksbank, 
 the elder, widow, late wife of John Brooksbank, of Horton, 
 gent., deceased, and Mary Brooksbank, the younger, widow 
 of Joseph Brooksbank, late of Horton, gent., deceased," of 
 certain messuages and lands described as " all that tenement 
 situate at Horton Lane Side, with barn, &c.," and also " all 
 those several closes of land belonging thereto, known as the 
 Sherebrig Beck Close, the Lower Hall Brooks, the Tempest 
 Field, Stonylands, &c., late in the tenure of John Brooksbank 
 and Jonas Tommis, and also all the other hereditaments in 
 Horton and elsewhere." The trustees under the marriage 
 settlement were Thomas Hodgson, of Scholemoor, stuffmaker, 
 and Wm. Smith, Bradford, grocer. 
 
 Mary Charnock died in July, 1S09, leaving at her decease 
 three children, namely, Thomas B. Charnock, Mary Hodgson 
 Charnock, and Martha Hanson Charnock, to whom she 
 bequeathed her property in three equal parts. Her husband, 
 the Rev. Jas. Charnock, died in May, 18 19. Mary Hodgson 
 Charnock died in December, 1845, leaving her property in 
 equal portions to her brother, T. B. Charnock, and her sister, 
 Martha Hanson Charnock, who married in 1835 Mr. Thomas 
 Horsfall, and went to reside at the Paper Hall, Barkerend, 
 afterwards removing to Burley Hall. Thomas Brooksbank 
 Charnock died in October, 1847, intestate, leaving a son, 
 James Hanson Charnock. The Charnocks resided at the 
 Mansion House, in Southfield Lane, after leaving Haworth. 
 Thomas (locally known as Tommy) Barraclough, the father 
 of Mrs. Charnock, married Mary, the only daughter of 
 old Gilbert Brooksbank, of Tanhouse, and tlius became 
 the connecting link between the Brooksbanks and the 
 Charnocks, who now hold their property. Unfortunately, 
 the later members of the Brooksbank family were very 
 improvident, the last of them, who died very poor, having, 
 it is said, " swallowed five farms " during the course of an 
 intemperate life.
 
 182 Rambles Round Horton. 
 
 The little colony of houses once known as Old Todley 
 exists now only in name. The site of it is partly occupied 
 by Messrs. J. J. Broadbent & Co.'s mill and the late Mr. 
 Broadbent's residence, called Great Horton House. When 
 Brooksbank House opposite was in its heyday it looked 
 upon a few low cottages, a blacksmith's shop, and a little 
 school-house, with burial ground attached, also a plot of 
 vacant land. From the proximity of these buildings of high 
 and low degree it is evident that Old Todley or Smithy Hill 
 might be regarded as the centre of the village of Great 
 Horton, a distinction which the site still retains. 
 
 From deeds in the possession of the Broadbent family 
 it appears that the old school was built by the Wesleyans 
 of Horton in the year 1766, the ground having been 
 purchased for that purpose by Jonas Jowett and James 
 Brayshaw. It remained as a day and Sunday school and 
 preaching-room until the erection of Hunt Yard Wesleyan 
 Chapel in the year 18 14. The old school property and the 
 land adjoining were sold in 181 5 on behalf of the Wesleyan 
 body to Messrs. John Knight & Co. by the following trustees, 
 namely, Samuel White, James Helliwell, Thomas Stocks, 
 Roger Milnes, Robert Turner, Eli Suddards, John Ramsden, 
 and John Hall. Many interments having been made on the 
 Todley site, the remains were removed to the burial ground 
 adjoining the new chapel. The old school-room was after- 
 wards used as a shuttle-making shop by Nathaniel Dracup, a 
 noted bass singer. The smith's shop appears to have been in 
 the occupancy of a man named John Abbott. Three of the 
 cottages adjoining were occupied by James Aveyard, James 
 Binns, and John Tommis, and on the side nearest to the Four 
 Ashes was one cottage occupied by the Blagbrough family. 
 
 Reference has already been made to the earlier history 
 of Messrs. Broadbent's Mill, erected in the early part of the 
 century for the cotton manufacture by Messrs. J. & B. Knight, 
 afterwards occupied by Mr. Cowling Ackroyd in the worsted 
 business, and for about a quarter of the century by Mr. J. J. 
 Broadbent. During the interval it has been respectively 
 known as Knight's (or " Kneet ") Mill, Cowling Mill, and 
 Harris Court Mill, consequent on the property having come
 
 Rambles Round Horton. ina 
 
 into the possession of Messrs. Harris, the bankers, on the 
 bankruptcy of Messrs. Knight, The good house adjoining 
 called Great Horton House, was originally erected by John 
 Knight for his own residence, and was enlarged and much 
 improved by Mr. J. J. Broadbent. 
 
 This gentleman was for many years connected with the 
 staple trade of Bradford, and after his acquisition of the 
 Harris Court Mill property was largely contributory to the 
 welfare of the people of Great Horton, materially and socially. 
 He was the son of Mr. John Broadbent, of the Canal Road 
 Vitriol Works, Bradford. Prior to the removal of his business 
 to Harris Court Mill Mr. J. J. Broadbent was at Atlas Works, 
 Thornton Road, but as his business proved more and more 
 successful he bought the Harris Court Mill property from 
 Messrs. Harris, the bankers. He very much enlarged the 
 mill premises, which at the present time form an extensive 
 pile. Mr. Broadbent was a thoroughly practical business 
 man, and was held in high esteem in commercial circles. He 
 was of a retiring disposition, and took very little part in the 
 political or municipal affairs of the town. For many years 
 he attended St. John's Church, Great Horton, the building of 
 which had been greatly helped forward by him, and he held 
 the office of warden there for some time. In Great Horton 
 he was highly esteemed both as an employer of labour and 
 as a leading resident. Mr. Broadbent's death occurred in 
 October, 1885, aged sixty-seven years. 
 
 The previous occupier of Great Horton House, Mr. 
 Cowling Ackroyd, was a gentleman whose name was long 
 associated with the trade of Bradford, while as a resident of 
 Horton he occupied a very prominent position. He was one 
 of the sons of old h>ank Ackroyd, and commenced in the 
 worsted business with his brother Thomas, at Mir}'pond Mill, 
 prior to the latter's removal to Birkenshaw. Cowling Ackroj-d 
 then succeeded Messrs. Knight at Harris Court Mill, and for 
 years was tlie leading man of the worsted trade of Great 
 Horton, while at the same time an active townsman, and the 
 leader in almost any movement, socially and politically. For 
 a long period he enjoyed the title of the " King of Horton." 
 He was an ardent Tory, and was the proposer of Mr. John
 
 184 Rambles Round Norton. 
 
 Hardy when that gentleman first contested Bradford in 1832, 
 and again on the occasion when the present Lord Cranbrook 
 (then Mr. Gathorne - Hardy) sought the suffrages of the 
 Bradford electors in 1847. Mr. Ackroyd was at one time the 
 parish constable for Horton, and was unsuccessful in a contest 
 with Mr. Richard Denton for the office of councillor for the 
 Great Horton Ward in 1848. He was, however, returned for 
 the Bowling Ward in 1849. He was also a trustee of the Old 
 Piece Hall, and a commissioner of taxes. In more recent 
 times Mr. Ackroyd held an appointment on the Great 
 Northern Railway. His death occurred in May, 1872, in 
 the seventy-second year of his age. 
 
 Several old Horton families were located in the immediate 
 neighbourhood of " Cowling Mill." John Clough kept a 
 grocer's shop next to the mill, and nobody was better known 
 and respected. His son W^illiam removed to Westgate, Brad- 
 ford, and was a maltster there. Adjoining Clough's house 
 was the residence of John Wood, familiarly known as 
 " Spectacle Wood," to whom Great Horton was indebted for 
 postal facilities, of which the village stood in great need half 
 a century ago. 
 
 Mr. Wood was a native of Allerton, but migrated to 
 Manningham as a schoolmaster, and in 1838 removed to 
 Great Horton. One of his first engagements was to assist in 
 the preparations made for celebrating the coronation of Her 
 Majesty Queen Victoria, which event took place on the 28th 
 day of June, and was observed in Great Horton as a day of 
 general rejoicing. At that time postal affairs were managed 
 with great laxity. All the letters were forwarded from 
 Bradford twice a-week, the messenger being a man over 
 seventy years of age, who could neither read or write, and who 
 frequently remained drinking on the road until late in the 
 day, deferring the delivery until the following morning. At 
 Mr. Wood's initiation, however, a memorial praying for a daily 
 delivery was successful, and subsequently a sub-post-ofifice 
 was established, Mr. Wood being elected sub-postmaster, and 
 this position he held for twelve years. Mr. Wood afterwards 
 became connected with various newspapers, and n that 
 capacity was well known.
 
 Rambles Round H or ton. 185 
 
 Another family named Haley, were for generations shop- 
 keepers at the end of Southfield Lane, " Sally Haley's " being 
 a household name in the neighbourhood, and a Jeremy Haley 
 occupied the Mansion House before the Charnocks came to 
 reside at it. Dr. Illingworth, afterwards of Bradford, occupied 
 a room in this house, when commencing practice in the 
 district ; and the Mansion House was subsequently occupied 
 by the Misses Hinchliffe as a boarding school ; then by Mr, 
 E. K. Fox, and the present tenant is Mr. John Buckle. 
 
 ;. While gossiping about old Hortonians who resided in 
 this neighbourhood we must make some reference to Abraham 
 Thomas, or " Doctor Tom," as he was familiarly called, who 
 was the village surgeon for over sixty years, and the only one 
 in'Horton for nearly forty. Dr. Thomas came from Hebden 
 liridgc in 1822, and resided first in the old parsonage opposite 
 Bell Chapel, afterwards removing to the end of Cross Lane, 
 where he died in February, 1878, in his eightieth year. The 
 doctor was one of the old school of surgeons, and bled for 
 ever}'thing, but he had the wisdom to refrain from dosing 
 with physic where fresh air was m.ore suitable, and was in the 
 habit of recommending a stroll upon Beacon Hill as the best 
 thing possible. He had his peculiarities, however, among 
 them being a love of money, although as a set-off he was 
 moderate in his charges, and was never known to ask for a 
 debt. He was a big, burly man, somewhat short-tempered, 
 and not very particular in his choice of language. Apart from 
 his medical standing, " Doctor Tom " played a somewhat 
 prominent part in the affairs of Horton, and enjoyed con- 
 siderable respect. He was a bachelor, and left several 
 bachelor brothers, among whom he divided his great property 
 while still alive. He was buried at Heptonstall, near his 
 native village. 
 
 Edward Cockerham was also a man of some standing in 
 Horton. He originally came from Leeds. His father was 
 a carrier between Leeds, Bradford, Manchester, and other 
 places, his waggons being well known as " Cockerham's 
 waggons." The son came as an apprentice to Cowling 
 Ackroyd, and remained several years after reaching manhood, 
 afterwards acting as manager for Messrs. Priestman at Brad-
 
 186 Rambles Ro2md Hortoii. 
 
 ford, prior to his entering into partnership with Mr. Getz at 
 Atlas Shed, Tumbling Hill. He lived at the house adjoining 
 the Wesleyan Chapel, which was built by Samuel Blamires. 
 Mr. Cockerham afterwards purchased Chapel House and 
 resided there until his removal to Ashfield House, Bingley, 
 where he died in 1883. He was an active churchwarden at 
 Bell Chapel, and a kindly neighbour and friend. 
 
 The neighbourhood of Hunt Yard has been strangely 
 altered since the commencement of the present century. 
 When the old road from Bradford to Halifax by way of 
 Silsbridge Lane, Green Lane, Toby Lane, Scarr Lane, was 
 the chief highway, there was an open space at Hunt Yard, 
 used in later times by the surveyors for a dross hill. 
 Excepting an old hostelry there were only two or three low 
 dwellings in Hunt Yard. According to the evidence of an 
 inscribed stone still preserved, the old hostelry was erected in 
 1622, the sign being the " Robin Hood and Little John." 
 The building was pulled down in iSoo for the erection of 
 more modern dwellings. The original cellars, however, 
 remain, and are arched, and in an underground recess there 
 are several stone pillars which supported the old building. A 
 portion of the original walling is above a yard in thickness. 
 There used to be an old building connected with this hostelry 
 called " Brick Castle," in which travellers were lodged ; the 
 beds of oak being built into the walls. Altogether, the 
 " Robin Hood " was a noted house when the old Scarr Lane 
 passed in front of it. It was at a " hen drinking " in this house, 
 in which the murderer of " Fair Becca " took part, that her 
 ghost, it is said, first appeared. 
 
 The most singular legend in connection with Hunt Yard, 
 however, is one which has been told by Mr. James, in his 
 " History of Bradford," and to which subsequent^historians 
 have been able to add little. The story runs thus : — That a 
 wild boar once frequented a certain well in Cliff Wood to 
 drink ; that the beast was watched by a person who, having 
 shot him dead, cut out his tongue, and repaired to court to 
 claim the reward which had been offered to any one who 
 would rid the neighbourhood of the presence of the beast. 
 Presently after his departure from the well, another person
 
 Rambles Round Horfon. i87 
 
 came thither upon the same errand, and finding the beast 
 dead, without any further examination he cut off his head 
 and hastened away to the same place in expectation of the 
 promised reward. Arriving" before liim who had been first at 
 the well, and being introduced to His Majesty's presence, the 
 head was examined, but was found without a tongue, con- 
 cerning 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 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 
 Rushworth hold a dog of the hunting kind whilst three blasts 
 were blown on a horn, and utter these words following, 
 expressed aloud, " Come, heir of Rushworth, come hold my 
 dog whilst I blow three blasts of my horn to pay my 
 Martinmas rent withal." 
 
 This tradition has been preserved for centuries. The 
 famed John of Gaunt, lord of the Honor of Pontefract, it is 
 said, added the blowing of the horn in order to make his 
 progress through Bradford more imposing, and the original 
 grant was made to John Northrop, of Manningham, who 
 granted a portion of it to Rushworth, of Horton, for assisting 
 in the horn-blowing ceremony. The horn went with the Hunt 
 Yard property, and was handed down by its possessors for 
 generations. At one time it was used to summon the 
 manufacturers to market. By purchase of part of the Hunt 
 Yard property it came into the possession of Mr, Richard 
 Fawcett, who afterwards lived in Hunt Yard, where his son, 
 the late Canon Fawcett, was born. Mr. Fawcett employed 
 many handcombers in the neighbourhood, and for some time 
 after his removal to Bradford continued the employment. 
 
 At the sale of I\Ir. Fawcett's estate the Hunt Yard 
 property passed into the hands of Messrs. Harris, the bankers, 
 and Messrs. Fox purchased it from them at the price, it is
 
 188 Rambles Round Norton. 
 
 said, of ^21 per house. The property now belongs to Mr. 
 R. A. Fox. The famous horn, however, came into the posses- 
 sion of Mr. Jonathan Wright, whose trustees at his death sold 
 it to the late Charles Rhodes,twho afterwards sold it to Dr. 
 Outhwaite. Dr. Outhwaite, having given up his house in 
 Bradford, did not feel himself justified in taking away this 
 interesting relic, and, according to agreement, gave Mr. 
 Rhodes the option of repurchasing it. This Mr. Rhodes did. 
 Afterwards it came into the possession of the late Sir Titus 
 Salt. Finally it has passed into the keeping of the Bradford 
 Philosophical Society, and may be seen in their museum at 
 the Technical College. Its length is about twenty-eight inches, 
 and it is of a beautiful dapple-grey, tipped with silver. The 
 silver tip is understood to have been added while the horn was 
 in the keeping of Mr. Fawcett. 
 
 Whilst taking our topographical ramblings in Great 
 Horton proper, we may add a sentence or two in reference 
 to Low Green or Low Fold. The existence here of two or 
 three very ancient houses, including the old Manor Llouse, 
 marks Low Green as one of the original settlements of Great 
 Horton. Tradition has it that the ancient residence of the 
 Horton family, formerly lords of the manor, was situate at 
 Low Green, and some colour is lent to the assumption by an 
 adjoining plot of ground being still called Hall Yard. With 
 all deference to the tradition, however, it is more likely that 
 the latter took its name from the family of Hall, which 200 
 years ago was one of some standing in that neighbourhood. 
 Upon an old residence ad- | and the date 1697, 
 
 ioininrr the King's Arms , . ' while similar initials 
 
 Inn, there are the initials are inscribed upon a 
 
 building at Low Green, with a subsequent date, 1722. As 
 noted in a previous paper, James Hall was, in 1704, assessed 
 in the property-tax for Horton at 20s., and he was also one 
 of the collectors. He lived at what is called the Manor 
 House, and owned land in front and at the back of his 
 residence. He was a manufacturer, as well as a carrier from 
 this district to London, conveying his own and other makers' 
 goods to the Metropolis by means of bell or pack horses. 
 He had a son John Hall, who lived at the same house after-
 
 Rarnhles Round Norton. i89 
 
 wards, whose daughter Jane was married to Sammy Blamires, 
 who kept the King's Arms Inn. By Mr. WilHam Cousen's 
 marriage with Phcebe, the daughter of Sammy Blamires, the 
 Low Green property came into the hands of the Cousen 
 family. 
 
 Another old residence of equal antiquity at Low 
 Green was that occupied by Eli Suddards, a corn dealer, 
 who commenced the erection of Cross Lane Mill, after- 
 wards purchased and completed b}' Mr. William Cousen. 
 Upon a house i and the date 1657, but as 
 
 situate near the mill, , to its origin we have no 
 
 is the inscription 1 I information. By the laying 
 
 out of Horton Park several old homesteads have been 
 absorbed. In one of them, called Low Close Farm, resided 
 John Jennings, a well-known townsman, who succeeded James 
 Wilson. The Hall Yard now forms the cricket ground of 
 Morton Park.
 
 190 Rambles Rotmd Norton . 
 
 C HAPTER XVI I. 
 
 Lidget Green— Dr. Fawcett — Mount Pleasant School — Schole Moor— The Mortimer 
 Family — The Midgleys— Schole Moor Cemetery — Birks Farm — Sams Mill. 
 
 There are doubtless several old portions of Great Horton, 
 as for example Blacksmith Fold and Upper Green, which 
 would yield abundant material for gossip, but we must hie 
 away to Lidget Green and Schole Moor, which are not 
 without features of interest. 
 
 Lidget or Lidgate Green has been supposed to be derived 
 from the Saxon Leodgate, signifying a gate leading to the 
 adjoining land, and we have abundant evidence that the land 
 to the west was formerly waste or common land. Li olden 
 times Lidgate Green would be a quiet place upon the old road 
 leading from Bradford to Halifax, the principal indication of 
 its existence being a blacksmith's shop at the corner of the 
 " Green," and two or three substantial farmsteads close at 
 hand. To one of these the following extract from the Sessions 
 Rolls of 1689 would doubtless apply, where we read : — " An 
 assembly of dissenting Protestants in and about Bradford 
 and Bradford-dale do make choice of the house of Richard 
 Whitehurst, clerk, Lidgate, near Clayton." 
 
 From this extract we derive two facts, one being that two 
 hundred years ago the place was called " Lidgate," and the 
 other that under the provisions of the so-called Toleration 
 Act, a little assembly at Lidget contributed to the foundation 
 of Nonconformity in these parts by establishing a meeting- 
 house. It would appear that the residents of Lidget Green in 
 more recent times were intolerant of clerical imposts, the 
 collector of vicar dues having been once stoned away at the 
 ri.sk of his life. Happily there has been no such martyr in 
 recent times. We are unaware whether the great bonfire 
 which upon each anniversary of Gunpowder Plot was set 
 ablaze at Lidget Green had any political or religious 
 significance, but it is certain that the residents of this hamlet 
 have for generations held pronounced views on matters 
 ecclesiastical and political, while local questions excite in 
 them an equal amount of interest.
 
 Rambles Round Norton. 191 
 
 Lidgct Green has given birth to a thrifty race of people, 
 many families, such as the Rawnsleys, Bentleys, Cockcrofts 
 Leaches, Dewhirsts, Holdsworths, and others having clung 
 to the neighbourhood with loving pride. Their histories, 
 however, we must pass over to notice that of one of the 
 celebrities of the neighbourhood. 
 
 John Favvcett (afterwards the celebrated Dr. Fawcett) 
 was born at Lidget Green in January, 1739. His father was 
 Stephen Fawcett, a small farmer, and he leaving a numerous 
 progeny, John was bound apprentice to a staymaker in 
 Bradford. Although engaged from six in the morning to 
 eight at night, the young man contrived to steal a ^ew hours 
 for study, and became a good linguist and Biblical scholar. 
 His first- religious impressions were received from the 
 celebrated Whitfield, who preached in the Bradford Bowling 
 Green to about ten thousand persons when young Fawcett 
 was about sixteen years of age. He afterwards attended 
 Haworth Church, where the Rev. William Grimshaw, the 
 apostle of the North, officiated. In February, 1758, young 
 Fawcett came before the Baptist Church at Bradford, and was 
 baptised by the Rev. William Crabtree on the nth of March. 
 Having imbibed the doctrines of the Baptists, he still walked 
 to Haworth to hear the Rev. James Hartley, the Baptist 
 minister, preach; and in 1764 the latter was the means of 
 pressing Mr. Fawcett to accept the pastorate of W^ainsgate 
 Chapel, near Hebden Bridge, where he laboured for many 
 years. He afterwards established an academy at Ewood 
 Hall, which attained considerable celebrity and brought him a 
 handsome competence, and in 181 1 the degree of D.D. was 
 conferred upon him. 
 
 Dr. Fawcett's writings are numerous, his Commentary on 
 the Bible being a text-book for all Biblical scholars, and he 
 wrote many other valuable works, one of which, his " Essay 
 on Aneer," brought the author under the notice of George HI. 
 This was about the year 1802, when a dignitary of the 
 Church, preaching before His Majesty, quoted a passage on 
 the government of the passions, with which the Royal hearer 
 was particularly pleased, and requested to know the name of 
 the author quoted. This was given, and it was added that he
 
 192 Rambles Ronnd Horton. 
 
 was a minister in Yorkshire of the Baptist denomination. 
 His Majesty wrote to Mr. Fawcett, and the book was 
 sent, accompanied by a modest and respectful letter. The 
 King having read it with great pleasure, expressed to Mr. 
 Fawcett his wish to serve him in any way that might be 
 agreeable. That gentleman, however, rested satisfied with 
 expressing the high sense he entertained of the honour done 
 him, without soliciting further favours. Some time afterwards, 
 the son of one of Mr. Fawcett's members was convicted of 
 forgery, and, sympathising with the afflicted parent, the 
 minister determined to avail himself of his interest with the 
 King, and wrote a very pathetic letter requesting the life of 
 the young man. A reprieve was at once granted, to the 
 great surprise of all who did not know the previous cir- 
 cumstances, but the full particulars of the event Dr. Fawcett 
 considered himself bound by delicacy to conceal during the 
 life of his benefactor. One of the doctor's sermons delivered 
 at the Baptist Association in Bradford in 1810 produced a 
 great effect. His death occurred in 1817 ; aged seventy-seven. 
 
 The building called Mount Pleasant Independent School 
 may be regarded as a link connecting the present with the 
 past. Although of humble appearance contrasted with such 
 erections as the new Board school adjoining, or the numerous 
 Sunday schools upon the elegant scale now prevailing, Mount 
 Pleasant School did good service at a period when such 
 institutions were much needed. Although, as we have shown, 
 a small body of Dissenters had nearly two centuries ago done 
 its part in establishing a meeting-house at the Green, no 
 necessity had apparently arisen for the erection of a place of 
 worship, and half a century ago there was neither church, 
 chapel, nor school-house in the neighbourhood. 
 
 The pioneer in providing an acknowledged want was 
 Mr. Joshua Rhodes Balme, of Crosley Hall. He first 
 collected children in a cottage occupied by Sarah Silson, and 
 the school was continued there until the cottage became 
 too small to accommodate the numbers seeking admission- 
 Subscriptions were then raised towards the erection of a 
 school for instruction on Sundays and week days, and a plot 
 of land was purchased from Messrs. John & Robert Turner,
 
 Rambles Round Horton. 193 
 
 stone merchants, of Legrams, containing an area of 324 square 
 yards, for the sum of £dfO los. The trustees contracting for 
 the purchase were the Rev. J. G. Miall, Bradford ; Rev. Thos, 
 Hutton, Allerton ; Henry Brown, Bradford, draper ; Geo. 
 Osborn, Bradford, woolstapler ; Wm. Mackay, Manningham, 
 tea dealer ; John Wilkinson Balme, Allerton, coal proprietor ; 
 Wm. Smith, Legrams, worsted spinner ; Samuel Rawnsley, 
 Lidget Green, worsted manufacturer ; Joseph Holdsworth, 
 Lidget Green, worsted manufacturer ; John Holdsworth, 
 Paradise Green, stuff weaver ; Thos. Hammond, Bradford, 
 worsted manufacturer; Thomas Buck, Bradford, worsted 
 spinner ; Wm. Wyrill, Bradford, ironmonger ; Robert 
 Patterson, Bradford, stuff merchant ; and John Dewhirst, 
 Lidget Green, stuff weaver. 
 
 The building was opened in the year 1838, with about 
 120 scholars, Mr. Joshua Balme being the responsible head, 
 assisted, as teachers, by his cousin, Mr. E. Balme, the Misses 
 Holdsworth, Tiplady, Rawnsley, and others. Mr. Balme had 
 had an academic training, and his heart was evidently in the 
 work. He was, however, somewhat of a recluse, and had a 
 little room fitted up in the attic of the school, in which he 
 studied and slept, the dim light of his nightly lamp being 
 often observed in the small hours of the morning. Mount 
 Pleasant School was at first attached to Horton Lane Chapel, 
 tlien to Salem Chapel, and afterwards to Lister Hills Chapel, 
 with which it is now connected. \\\ 1877 the building was 
 completely remodelled at an expenditure of ^600, chiefly 
 through the liberality and endeavours of Mr. Robert Leach, 
 an old scholar at the school, and one of the present trustees. 
 
 The National School at Lidget Green was opened in 1839, 
 having been erected principally by subscription. The land for 
 the site was given by Mr. Joshua Pollard, of Crow Trees. The 
 architect of the building was Mr. Wm. Andrews, of Bradford. 
 
 Scholemoor (with which may be associated Paradise 
 Green) is a hamlet of Horton adjoining to Lidget Green, and 
 is supposed to have derived its • name from having been 
 moorland dotted with rude huts ; scholcs or scJiales denoting 
 huts. That the commons or wastes of Horton lay in the 
 vicinity, if not upon the actual site of the Scholemoor 
 
 N
 
 194 Rambles Round Norton. 
 
 Cemetery, the deeds handed over to the Corporation 
 abundantly testify. These deeds extend backwards to the 
 year 1520, and bring up the title to the most recent owners. 
 The temptation to copy freely from such a wealth of material 
 is undoubtedly great, but we must be content to indicate by a 
 few extracts the line of owners since the land was " improved " 
 from the waste. 
 
 While yet in this condition a family of the name of 
 Thornton would appear to have been possessed of a messuage 
 and lands at Scholemoor, but as they do not appear after 
 about the year 1520, and were then described as of Byrtbe, in 
 the county of York, their interest was probably bought up by 
 the most important Scholemoor family on record, that of the 
 Mortimers. In 1562 John Lacy, of Cromwellbotham, who 
 had succeeded to the lordship of the Manor of Horton by 
 marrying the heiress of the Leventhorpes, conveyed to John 
 Mortimer, of Scholemoor, several parcels taken from the 
 waste lands of Horton, and similar grants were made to 
 William Ellison, of Horton, Thomas Littlewood, and Thomas 
 Wood, rendering knight's service, suit of Court at Horton, and 
 an annual rent of one red rose (an evident indication that the 
 grantor could give no substantial title). 
 
 In Oct., 1589, Richard and John Lacy sold the moors 
 and wastes of Horton, at that time said to comprise 250 acres, 
 to Thomas Hodgson, of Bowling, yeoman, Thomas Sharp, 
 Robert Booth, and William Field, of Horton. Accordingly 
 we find several deeds, dated 1591, relating to grants made 
 from the newly-acquired wastes, of which the following is an 
 example, viz. : — 
 
 Mar. 31, 1 59 1. — Thos. Hodgson, of Bowling, yeoman, Thos. Sharp, 
 Robt. Booth, Wm. Field, of Horton, yeomen, granted to Edwd. 
 ?vIortimer, of Horton, clothier, all those parcels of land, being portions 
 of eight acres forming part of Horton common or moor, five acres being 
 on the west side of the road Icadino to the end of the mansion-house of 
 Ed. Mortimer, and abutting on the north side by the road leading from 
 Clayton to Bradford. Another parcel of five roods abutting on the same 
 road, and on the east side by land belonging to Benjamin Kennett, clerk ; 
 and another parcel lying in the Upper Moor, being portions of land 
 assigned to Edwd. Mortimer, Richard Clayton, John Hollings, Thos. 
 liarraclough, and others. And also another parcel containing lA. IR.,
 
 Rambles Round Horton. 195 
 
 having a road over it, being the residue of the aforesaid eight acres, 
 abutting on the lands of Ed. Mortimer, in Horton. 
 
 The mention of a " mansion-house " at that remote 
 period naturally leads the antiquarian mind to wonder where 
 it might be situate, and there can be little doubt that the 
 residence in question was that which stood near the top of 
 Scholemoor Cemetery when the land was acquired for burial 
 purposes. The house was a substantial specimen of the class 
 usually inhabited by the smaller gentry, having heavy over- 
 hanging eaves, and massive mullioned windows. A pair of 
 huge pillars flanked the entrance gateway in front, a broad 
 walk leading to the house. Several of the large trees 
 surrounding the residence are now standmg in the Cemetery. 
 
 The Mortimers evidently added to their possessions in 
 other parts of the township, as is shown by deeds dealing 
 with land at Hollinwood, to which place members of the 
 family migrated from the paternal homestead. Particulars 
 of the Scholemoor branch are given in the following 
 summarised wills: — 
 
 Will of John Mortimer, oj Scholemoor, dated 16^8. 
 John Mortimer, yeoman, in his last will and testament, made May 
 12, 1658, devised to William Mortimer, his younger son, and his heirs, all 
 that dwelling-house and barn, with one close of land belonging, then in 
 the occupation of Matthew Sowden, and situate in Horton ; four closes 
 called Milner Closes, and other closes in Horton, occupied by the said 
 John Mortimer. To Elizabeth, Martha, Sarali, and Mary Mortimer, his 
 daughters, he left one hundred pounds each. To his wife Mary he 
 bequeathed a portion of his goods and chattels ; and to his eldest son 
 John the residue of his estate. 
 
 Witnesses : Richard Booth, William Field, John lllingworth. 
 
 Will of John Mortimer, jun., of Scholemoor, dated 16"] 8. 
 John Mortimer, yeoman, of Scholemoor, in his last will and 
 testament, made December, 1678, provided that if the child then 
 expectant should be a son, then he should inherit all his estate at 
 Scholemoor ; and, if a daughter, he bequeathed to her the sum of three 
 hundred pounds, and in that case devised his estates to his brother 
 William, his heirs, &c., upon payment of the above bequest to his unborn 
 daughter upon her attaining her majority. To his wife Elizabeth he made 
 provision by a yearly allowance during her lifetime. To Elizabeth, 
 Martha, Sarah, and Mary, his four sisters, he left the sum of one 
 hundred pounds, 
 
 Witnesses : John Sagar, John Hodgson, David Midgley.
 
 196 Rambles Round Horton. 
 
 In Sir John Maynard's valuation of the rectorial tythes of 
 Horton, made in 1638, John Mortimer, of Scholemoor, is 
 assessed at £2\ on three oxgangs of land, and a John 
 Mortimer is the only master miner named in the early 
 registers of the Bradford Parish Church ; while in the allot- 
 ment of sittings at the church, made before 1705, Wm. 
 Mortimer has the largest number allotted to him as a 
 freeholder of Horton, namely, four and one-fourth, showing 
 that William had succeeded to his brother John's estate ''as 
 bequeathed in the second will) failing a son being born to 
 the inheritance. Indeed we have the receipt before us dated 
 June, 1705, wherein his brother's wife Elizabeth acknowledges 
 the half-yearly payment of £6 13s. 4d., " by virtue of the last 
 will and testament of John Mortimer, my late husband." 
 
 The relation of the Mortimers to the Tempest family of 
 Horton is indicated to some extent in the following extract 
 from a deed referring to Shelf Hall, Avherein by indenture 
 dated 
 
 July 12, 1660. — Richard Mortymer, of Horton, in Bradford-dale, 
 yeoman, in consideration of the sum of ^19 6s., bargains to sell to 
 Martha Best, of Landimere, Shelf, widow of Richard Best, and Michael 
 Best, younger son of Richard Best late of the same, yeoman, deceased, 
 the messuage called "the old house," &c., in Shelf, late the inheritance of 
 Richard Tempest, of Horton, deceased, late uncle of Richard Mortymer 
 deceased, who died without issue. The estate then came to Richard 
 Mortymer, as cousin and next heir of the said Richard Tempest, (that is 
 to say) son and heir of Sarah, late wife of William Mortymer, deceased, 
 late father of said Richard Mortymer, and which said Sarah was sister 
 and only heir of Richard Tempest. 
 
 Witnesses : Isaac Maude, Jas. Sagar, Will. Appleyard, John 
 
 Learoyd. 
 
 About the beginning of the eighteenth century the 
 Mortimer estate at Scholemoor appears to have become 
 merged in that of the Midgleys, one of the four sisters named 
 in John Mortimer's will having married a Midgley, who in 
 1706 administered to the personalty of her brother, William 
 Mortimer. The Midgley family was of ancient descent at 
 Headley, in Thornton, and was connected by marriage with 
 many of the chief families in the neighbourhood. In the 
 Bradford Parish Church there is a handsome mural monument
 
 Rambles Round Norton. 197 
 
 in memory of John Midglcy, of Scholcmoor, who died in 
 1730, and of Bathsheba, his wife, daughter of John HoHings, 
 of Crosley Hall, who died in 1736. The deceased gentleman 
 was an attorney. The deeds conveying the Scholemoor 
 estate to the Bradford Corporation describe the Midgleys 
 as of Scholemoor, and presumably residing at the former 
 mansion of the Mortimers. 
 
 About 1740 two maiden sisters of John Midgley, of 
 Scholemoor, gentleman, named Mary and Martha, purchased 
 the adjoining manor of Clayton for ^looo. Mary Midgley 
 became the first wife of Samuel Lister, Esq., of Horton, and, 
 she dying in 1764 without issue, the manor became the 
 property of her unmarried sister, Martha, who by her will 
 dated 1778 devised the lordship of Clayton and all her estate 
 to the Rev. Geo. Cooke, of Everton, and Mary his wife, who 
 was a Rollings. The Rev. Henry Cooke, a son of the latter, 
 succeeded to the Scholemoor estate, and in 1800 sold it to Mr. 
 John Jarratt, of Bradford, who had land in the neighbourhood, 
 the Scholemoor land being then in the tenancy of Richard 
 Lumby, farmer. In 18 14 Mr. Jarratt disposed of his interest 
 to John Booth, farmer, of Denby, Allerton, who, by his will, 
 dated 1826, bequeathed his estates at Clayton, Manningham, 
 and Scholemoor to Joshua Robertshaw, of Swain Royd, and 
 James and William Booth, both of Allerton, in trust for the 
 use of his wife Mary, and Ann Lumby, his daughter, and 
 her children. 
 
 The transfer of the Scholemoor estate to the Corporation 
 was made in 1858 by Wm. Tickles, \\'ilsden ; Dan Hopkin, 
 Clifton ; Jos. Woodhead, Cleckheaton ; and Catherine Booth 
 Woodhead, daughter of Samuel Lumb}'. Samuel and Richard 
 Lumby, of Scholemoor, were brothers, the former residing in 
 the homestead previously described as standing within the 
 Cemetery grounds, and the latter in the farmstead situate 
 near to the Cemetery gates. Both the brothers Lurnb}' were 
 very active townsmen during the early part of the present 
 century. Richard was largely engaged in farming operations ; 
 Samuel, or " owd Sammy Lumby," as he was invariabl}- called, 
 was almost wholly engaged in town's business either as 
 overseer or constable, and he was the leading churchwarden at
 
 198 Rambles Round Horton. 
 
 Bell Chapel. In 1857, when the Scholcmoor estate came into 
 the market, Mr. James Dixon, of Bradford, purchased two 
 lots, upon the site of which he erected North Park Lodge, 
 where he resides. 
 
 Scholemoor Cemetery stands in a beautiful position just 
 beyond Lidget Green, the ground lying upon a gentle slope 
 overlooking the Thornton Valley. An estate of more than 
 thirty acres was purchased by the Corporation at a cost of 
 £^^^0. Twenty acres have been laid out, ten acres being 
 reserved in fields and meadows for future appropriation. The 
 principal works were begun in the latter part of 1858, and 
 were carried out under the direction of Mr. Gott, the borough 
 surveyor, the registrar's house and the chapels having been 
 erected from the designs of Mr. E. Milnes, architect. The 
 cost of the site and the laying out was about £\ 1,000 
 
 Springfield, the residence of Mr. Simeon Townend, is not 
 very ancient, although it has been much altered in appearance. 
 Formerly the ground upon which it stands, as well as the 
 adjoining land, formed a part of the estate of the Pollards, of 
 Crow Trees, afterwards bought by the Horsfalls. The house 
 has been occupied successively by Joshua Dewhirst, John 
 Hardaker, topmaker and farmer, John Sagar, Jo. Morris, 
 solicitor ; and others. Before Mr. Morris entered to it the 
 land was said to be " too poor to summer a gooise," but under 
 his care, and that of the succeeding occupier, it has been 
 much improved. 
 
 Until recently the carriage way which divided the two 
 portions of Scholcmoor Cemetery led to a footpath which 
 to the left went forward to Crosley Hall, and to the right 
 led to Birks P'arm, comprising two separate tenements. One 
 occupied by James Pearson and cut in the mantel- 
 
 contains the inscription piece of an adjoining 
 
 over the doorway _ building the initials 
 
 and the date 1664. There is also a curious motto 
 accompanying the latter inscription, as follows : — 
 " My son, fear the Lord and the King, and meddle 
 not with them that are given to change." This portion of the 
 homestead is in a ruinous condition, but was formerly owned 
 and occupied by Thomas Hodgson, who is severally described
 
 Rambles Round Hortoii. 199 
 
 as a woolstapler and merchant. His family continued the 
 occupation, a more recent Thomas Hodgson being one of 
 the original trustees of Horton Lane Chapel, and described 
 in the deeds of 1781 as a worsted stuff maker. He after- 
 wards removed to a good house on the site of Messrs.* 
 D. Illingworth & Sons' Mill in Thornton Road. A long time 
 ago this portion of Birks Farm was in the occupation of 
 William Smith, and then of John Waugh, of Shuttleworth 
 Hall, whose family combined clog-making with farming. 
 
 An adjoining house, but one not of so ancient an 
 appearance, has for generations been in the occupation of 
 the family of Bakes. Both properties until recently belonged 
 to Mr. J. A. Jowett, as the descendant of the Hodgsons, but 
 Bakes's Farm has lately been purchased by the Corporation 
 for the purpose of improving the cemetery site. 
 
 The situation of Sams Mill marks it as the probable site 
 of a very old corn mill, bordering the stream which, after 
 receiving the waters of Bullgreave Beck, dividing Clayton from 
 Horton, is afterwards known as Bradford Beck. The origin 
 of the name of the mill is obscure, but the date of its founda- 
 tion is probably given in an inscribed stone upon an inner 
 wall, which orioin- with the words, " Sams Mill 
 
 T H 
 
 ally was an outer on Middle Broke," namely, 
 
 wall, as follows : — that portion of the stream 
 
 dividing Allerton and Clayton. The above date and initials, 
 it will be observed, correspond with those upon the old house 
 at Birks ; indeed, the mill was evidently erected by Thomas 
 Hodgson, and afterwards passed to Dicky Hodgson, of 
 Whetley, from whom the property has descended to its 
 present owner, Mr. J. A. Jowett. 
 
 Of former millers we have only recent records. A 
 century ago John Jennings, whose family were millers at 
 Bowling Corn Mill, and lessees of the old Soke Mill, Bradford, 
 was tenant of Sams Mill, and in April, 1789, was killed by 
 the cogwheel of the mill. His widow married John Dalby, 
 of Leventhorpe Mill and Crosley Hall, who succeeded to 
 Sams Mill. After Dalby came Joseph Pilling, who had 
 previously run Poole old mill. He lived at the house 
 adjoining .Sams Mill, where his sons William and Joseph
 
 200 Rambles Round Horton. 
 
 were born. The latter were of an enterprising turn, as, in 
 addition to running Sams Mill, they occupied Beckside Mill 
 at Horton, and about forty years ago erected the premises 
 in Manchester Road, now known as the Borough Mills 
 (Messrs. J. Ellis & Co.). 
 
 James Pearson, of Leventhorpe Mill, followed the Fillings 
 at Sams Mill, and has been the miller there now for forty 
 years. By alterations and additions the old mill has been 
 almost completely absorbed, and little is observable of the 
 original structure. Many years ago, however, Mr. Pearson 
 discovered an underground passage, which had apparently 
 been long hidden from view, and of which the former tenant 
 knew nothing, which had been probably a portion of the 
 goit for the waste water. The old house adjoining has also 
 received considerable additions. 
 
 In an old map of 1773 the adjoining land is named 
 " Scoles-moor," and the bridge leading to it from Manningham, 
 "Thief- ford Bridge." Thiefscore Lane, which has been 
 greatly widened and otherwise improved, has been re-named 
 Cemetery Road, and Scholemoor Lane altered to Necropolis 
 Road.
 
 Rambles Round Horton. 201 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 Legrams Lane— The Beiitleys^Hortoii Cirange— Dr. Maud— 11 le Turner Family — 
 John Jackson and Stephen Fawcett Lister Hills— Tlie West End Building 
 Club— Tanhouse— Fieldhead Dyeworks— Samuel Smith— The " Happy \'alley." 
 
 Legrams Lane is chiefly noticeable for the array of 
 familiar names with which it has been associated. Indeed, to 
 do justice to this part of the township an additional paper 
 would be needed, but we must refrain. 
 
 One of the names calling for mention is that of Nathan 
 Bentley. He was of a humble Horton famil}', and was 
 brought up to handloom weaving. By marriage with a 
 daughter of Mr. Joshua Bakes, of Horton, Mr. Bentley 
 acquired property at Legrams, and in 1837 erected upon it 
 Northside Mill, in which he successfully carried on the 
 worsted business, being, next to Mr. Cowling Ackroyd, the 
 largest manufacturer in Horton at one time. The business 
 was afterwards conducted by his sons Edwin, William, Bakes, 
 Nathan, and Henry Bentley, but was given up some years 
 ago. Besides his commercial enterprise, Mr. Nathan Bentley 
 had military leanings, and held a recruiting commission under 
 Government. He was himself a man of commanding presence 
 and of soldierlike bearing. 
 
 A more ancient family than the one last named resided 
 in the substantial farmhouse opposite the entrance gates of 
 Horton Grange, namely, that of Swaine. As already stated, 
 it was from this homestead that Mr. John Rand the elder 
 married his wife, the daughter of Samuel Swaine. The 
 Woods, father and son, succeeded Swaine, and they have been 
 followed by the Robertshaws. The farm, however, has for 
 generations belonged to the Hodgson family, represented 
 by Mr. J. A. Jowett. In an upper portion of the farmstead 
 there is a fine plaster cast of the Ro}-al arms, surmounted by 
 the initials of Charles II. and the date 1660. At some period 
 the apartment has probably been used as a justice-room. 
 
 Horton Grange has a twofold histor}-, associated as it is 
 with Dr. Maud, a member of an old Ouakcr family, and with
 
 202 Rambles Round Horton. 
 
 the Turners, the latter being one of the most influential 
 families in the township. Ur. William Maud was born in 
 Bradford in 1765, his father, Timothy, being a surgeon there. 
 His father's place of business was in Westgate, and to his 
 practice William Maud .succeeded, and became an exceedingly 
 popular practitioner. He was amongst the first to give effect 
 to Jenner's discovery of vaccination. He also established, 
 with his partner, the firm, of Maud & Wilson, druggists, in 
 Sun Bridge, but in 1820 retired from practice, and went 
 to reside at a large house which stood on the site of the 
 Victoria Hotel in Bridge Street. He was an eminent member 
 of the Society of Friends, and took great interest in the slave- 
 trade question, the Bible Society, and Sunday schools, besides 
 giving his professional advice gratis to poor people. 
 
 Mr. Maud removed from Bridge Street to Legrams, 
 having for his residence an old house which stood on the site 
 of Horton Grange. This house he much improved, and also 
 planted the trees now surrounding the grounds. 
 
 About the year 1831 Mr. Maud withdrew altogether from 
 town life, and retired to a small farm in Craven, which he 
 took great pleasure in cultivating, and where he spent the 
 remainder of his days. His death occurred in September, 
 1835, aged seventy-one. Benjamin Seebohm, of the firm of 
 Hustler & Seebohm, woolstaplers, succeeded Dr. Maud at 
 Legrams, but ultimately went to reside at Hitchin, where his 
 family still live. 
 
 Horton Grange estate next became the property of 
 Messrs. John & Robert Turner, stone merchants, whose 
 quarries were also situate in Legrams. The old homestead of 
 the Turners was that since acquired and enlarged by Mr. 
 George Hodgson. The two brothers pulled down Dr. Maud's 
 old residence and erected upon the site two houses, in which 
 they resided, and upon the death of John the Grange was 
 made into one residence for Robert, who was the father of 
 Messrs. George, John, and Robert Turner, of Holme Top and 
 Beckside Mills. Horton Grange is now the residence of Mr. 
 George Turner, who has added to his estate much of the land 
 in the vicinity. The Gothic villa in Legrams Lane was built 
 for the widow of Mr. John Turner.
 
 Rambles Rotind Norton. 203 
 
 The Swaines and the Ramsbothams, families of import- 
 ance in Bradford in the beginning of the century, were 
 associated with Legrams, but ample reference was made to 
 both families while treating of commercial matters in a 
 previous chapter. The house, which is now the Willowfield 
 Hotel, was the residence of Mr. H. R. Ramsbotham. Prior to 
 his occupancy of it, a family named Smith, comprising two 
 bachelor brothers and a sister, resided there. Lawrence 
 Smith, whose residence was a little higher up Legrams Lane, 
 farmed the land on which Princeville stands. 
 
 The building now occupied by Mr. George Robertshaw 
 is one of the few farmsteads which retain their ancient 
 appearance in this neighbour- , and the date 1728. 
 
 hood. Inscribed on the ' I The rhain struc- 
 
 ample porch are the initials ' ' ture is evidently of 
 
 a prior date. The leading initial, we believe, denotes the 
 house to have been a residence of the Barraclough family, of 
 Horton. The property had, however, been acquired by Dicky 
 Hodgson, of Whetley, prior to 1800, at which period Isaac 
 Wilkinson, a stuff-maker, was the occupant. John Rhodes, 
 John Wilkinson, and George Robertshaw have since 'divided 
 the occupation. 
 
 Tanhouse, probably the early residence of the Brooksbank 
 family, was for forty years occupied by William Greenwood. 
 Before him Joseph Freeman, tanner, occupied the premises. 
 The new building, however, was erected as a residence for 
 Tom Hirst, one of the Hirsts of Clayton, and sometime 
 schoolmaster at the National School, Great Horton. The 
 love of sport, however, was such a predominant feature in 
 Tom Hirst's character that it is said he would any day leave 
 his school to follow the hounds, and probably his scholars 
 offered no objection to the holiday thus secured. 
 
 Before quitting Legrams a brief record of two of its 
 celebrities, namely, the late John Jackson and Stephen 
 Fawcett, may be inserted. Both occupied an humble sphere 
 in life, and both were remarkable in their respective walks. 
 
 John Jackson, or the " old Chartist," as he was latterly 
 styled, was a native of Harden, but when quite a lad came 
 to Horton, where his father had obtained employment at
 
 204 Rambles Round Morton. 
 
 Kniijht's cotton mill. John himself worked at the padpost, 
 and probably while at his occupation round the " pot o' four" 
 he imbibed those political notions which distinguished his 
 after life. He relinquished woolcombing, however, while yet 
 a young man, and took to horticultural pursuits, for which he 
 had a natural bent, and which he indulged so long as strength 
 allowed him. Meanwhile Jackson was a close student of 
 theology, of political economy, and of politics generally. He 
 was one of the first Chartists, but he had no sympathy with 
 " physical force," and strongly opposed many of the doctrines 
 held by his colleagues. He, along with Mr. Squire Farrar, 
 Mr. \Vm. Richardson, and a few others, established the old 
 Radical Reform Club in Bradford, out of which all subsequent 
 organisations of a like character have sprung. 
 
 John Jackson was always ready with his pen to uphold 
 his beliefs, and wrote many letters and pamphlets under the 
 signature, " J. J.," his most notable pamphlet being that 
 directed against Feargus O'Connor, entitled "The Demagogue 
 Done Up." He was also a good conversationalist, being full 
 of quaint humour. For more than half a century John 
 Jackson lived at Legrams, and in the same cottage. His 
 means, however, were very slender, and having lost his 
 partner in life he gave up his modest mansion, and built 
 himself a tiny hut in his garden allotment, and in this hermit 
 fashion he lived up to within a few days of his death, which 
 occurred at nearly eighty years of age, in March, 1875. 
 
 Stephen Fawcett was a man entitled to rank amongst the 
 best of our local poets, and might have acquired an even 
 more distinguished position had he not attempted too much. 
 For forty years he wrote and published poems and lyrics 
 descriptive of the natural scenery and legendary incidents 
 connected with his native valley of the Wharfe, as well as on 
 other topics, reverential, pathetic, grotesque, or tragic. His 
 first essay was in 1837, when he published his " Wharfedale 
 Lays and Legends " ; in 1842 his " Edwy and Elgiva " 
 appeared; and in 1872, by subscription, his "Bradford 
 Legends." None of his literary ventures, however, brought 
 him pecuniary gain — -a penalty frequently attaching to 
 literary effort.
 
 Rambles Round H or ton. 205 
 
 Stephen Fawcett was a man of voracious appetite for 
 learning, and by his own efforts mastered Latin, French, and 
 ItaHan, thus enabling him to consult authors in all three 
 languages. It was within an hour of giving a discourse to a 
 few friends in White Abbey, upon a passage from the Latin 
 version of Swedenborg's Adversaria, in December, 1876, that 
 he was found dead in a backyard in the neighbourhood. For 
 some time previous he had been supported by the generosity 
 of friends almost as poor as himself, and it is more than 
 probable that he died from the lack of sufficient sustenance. 
 Stephen Fawcett was a native of Burley, where he was born 
 in 1806. At the time of his death, therefore, he had reached 
 the allotted term of life. 
 
 Remembering the present populous character of Lister 
 Hills, the statement would hardly be credited that in the 
 year 1825 the inhabitants of that district were limited to 
 the half-dozen families resident at Cuckoo Nest. It was so, 
 however. There was no Lister Hills Road, nor Longside 
 Lane, nor Richmond Road, nor Preston Street, giving access 
 to the locality, this being alone supplied by Water Lane, 
 leading to Silsbridge Lane, and a footpath in continuation of 
 Shearbridge Road through the Fieldhead estate and over the 
 beck to Manningham. The land principally belonged to 
 Mrs. Giles, representing the old Sharp family, and Col. 
 Fitzgerald, if we except the Fieldhead Estate, which belonged 
 to Mr. Henry Gates, who had a residence opposite Shearbridge 
 Road, then a narrow steep lane crossing the Horton Beck. 
 
 The origin of the name of Lister Hills is clear. The 
 F'itzgeralds obtained the property by the marriage of Col. 
 Fitzgerald with the daughter of Dr. Crowther, of Leeds, 
 "she being heir-at-law of Samuel Lister, of Horton House, 
 gentleman. In the settlement drawn up in view of the 
 marriage of Samuel Lister and his second wife Dorothy, in 
 1766, mention is made of closes of land in Horton called the 
 Langsides, purchased by him of Benjamin Kennett, vicar of 
 Bradford, and inherited by the latter from his grandfather, 
 Mr. Stockdale ; and also the Great and Little Laistridge, 
 Tumbling Hill (then occupied by John Whitaker) ; and the 
 Norcroft, purchased by Samuel Lister of Thomas Aked, but
 
 206 Rambles Round H or ton. 
 
 previously owned by Faith Sawrey (heiress of the Sharp 
 estates). The bulk of the land in question comprised what is 
 now known as Lister Hills, evidently derived from the name 
 of Lister, of Horton House. 
 
 This view is confirmed by the ground plan of the 
 Fitzgerald Estate, dated 1825, in which the names Upper 
 and Lower Lister Hills occur. In the latter year a large 
 portion of the Horton property of the Fitzgeralds was put 
 into the market for sale as building land, and many blocks in 
 Lister Hills were sold. Directly afterwards, however, came 
 the great commercial crisis, bringing down the Wakefield 
 Bank and other previously considered safe repositories, and as 
 a consequence many of the speculators declined or were 
 unable to take up their purchases. Nor was the difficulty got 
 over easily, and not until the vendors had undertaken the 
 laying out and construction of Norcroft Road, now Richmond 
 Road, and Longside Lane, as an approach to the various 
 building plots. For years afterwards very few dwelling- 
 houses were put up on the estate, those in Lister Terrace, 
 erected by Dr. Thomas Lister, being about the first. 
 
 In the year 1845, or twenty years subsequent to the 
 opening up of the Fitzgerald Estate, an important building 
 movement was instituted at Lister Hills, leading to the 
 erection of Cobden Street, Bright Street, and Villiers Street. 
 At that period building clubs were in their infancy, the 
 Belgrave Place and one or tv/o other clubs having just been 
 started. Inspired by the growing desire to become landlords, 
 carrying with it the privilege of a vote for the county, several 
 working men put their savings together and founded the 
 West End Building Society, and a suitable plot of land 
 belonging to the Giles Estate of Horton Old Hall being 
 available, they purchased the whole at the price of 2s. 6^d. 
 per yard. It may be added that the corner plot upon which 
 the Waterloo Hotel stands, exchanged for a site selected by 
 the West End Club, only cost is. 6d. per yard. 
 
 A critical moment, however, occurred in the early history 
 of the West End Building Society which might have wrecked 
 the hopes of its promoters. Their accumulated capital had 
 reached ;^900, and had been invested in the Leeds and West
 
 Rmnbles Round Norton. 207 
 
 Riding Union Bank, whose premises were in l^ank Street, 
 when a rumour reached the trustees of the society that the 
 bank was in difficulties. In great distress the treasurer 
 hastened with his bank book, arriving just in time to find 
 the doors of the bank being closed to the pubh'c ! The 
 entire capital of the building club was invested in the bank, 
 and affairs looked serious ; but to the honour of the share- 
 holders of the bank be it said that they paid every farthing 
 of the club's deposit, not even reserving bank commission. 
 At the commencement of the society's operations only a few 
 straggling erections had appeared in Lister Hills, but the 
 demand for shares was such that dwellings were put up as 
 fast as share capital was available. The names given to the 
 various streets were inspired by the great Corn-Law agitation, 
 then at its height. 
 
 Practically, if not in order of priority, the opening up of 
 the Fieldhead Estate led to the development of Lister Hills. 
 This property, as previously stated, belonged to Mr. Henry 
 Oates, a member of the Leeds family of that name. At 
 the beginning of the century Mr. Oates was a somewhat 
 prominent member of Bradford society, and was a partner 
 in the Old Brewery. He was an active member of Chapel 
 Lane Chapel, and of a very benevolent disposition. At any 
 rate, he was a wealthy man, and* lived at Fieldhead House, 
 surrounding which he planted trees, adding quite a rural 
 aspect to the suburban locality. 
 
 Upwards of half a century ago Mr, Oates disposed of 
 his estate at Fieldhead to Mr. Robert Stables Ackroyd, of 
 Great Horton, who erected upon a portion of it Fieldhead 
 Mill, which he occupied. Another portion he sold to the firm 
 of Messrs. Joseph Smith & Sons, comprising John and 
 Thomas Smith, dyers, of Halifax, who commenced the 
 erection of Fieldhead Dyeworks, opened in October, 1836. 
 After a few years the senior partner and his son Thomas went 
 out of the firm, and Mr. Samuel Smith joined his brothers at 
 Bradford, under the style of Samuel Smith, Brothers & Co., 
 the dyeworks at Halifax being still carried on. In 1843 3. 
 dissolution of partnership took place, and Mr. John Smith 
 retired, when the firm traded as Messrs. Samuel Smith & Co.,
 
 208 Rambles Round Horton. 
 
 and under this title it has been carried on until the concern 
 was transformed into a limited company in 1878, the directors 
 being Mr. S. Milne Milne, Mr/ C. Telford Smith, and 
 Mr. William Binns. 
 
 It is unnecessary to add that the Fieldhead Dyeworks 
 have been greatly enlarged since their formation, being now 
 among the most extensive in the district. Field House was 
 erected by Mr. John Smith, one of the early partners, and 
 upon the late Mr. Samuel Smith coming to Bradford he took 
 up his residence there. Fieldhead Mills were occupied by 
 Messrs. Tremel & Co. after the death of Mr. R. S. Ackroyd, 
 but were purchased by Mr. John Smith, father of Alderman 
 Isaac Smith, who is now the owner and occupier. Mr. 
 Archibald Neill some years ago purchased the residue of the 
 Oates Estate, including Fieldhead House, and upon it he 
 erected many dwelling-houses, including St. Andrew's Villas. 
 
 No topographic notice of Lister Hills would be complete 
 without reference, however brief, to the character and enterprise 
 of the late Samuel Smith, of Fieldhead Dyeworks. Of his 
 commercial ability ample proof was furnished in the rapid 
 increase of the dyeworks after he became the leading partner. 
 He had not long been settled at Lister Hills before he began 
 to afford evidence that his mind was not wholly absorbed in 
 commercial affairs. 
 
 With a view to the development of the neighbourhood of 
 the dyeworks he commenced the erection of dwelling-houses 
 of an improved character in Preston Place, which was named 
 after Mr. John Preston, of Bradford, woolstapler, and a cousin 
 of Mrs. Smith, to whom he left some property. The street 
 afterwards got the name of Preston Street. At the corner 
 block Mr. Smith erected a building which was used as a 
 chapel and school-room, and in which occasional oratorios 
 were given under Mr. Smith's management. Preston Place 
 School was completed in P'ebruary, 1847, the organ being 
 opened at the same time by Dr. Gauntlett. 
 
 Mr. Smith's love of music was intense, and his skill and 
 judgment in musical matters were highly valued in quarters 
 not restricted to this neighbourhood. He was the chief 
 promoter of the erection of St. George's Hall, and was the
 
 Rambles Round Norton. 209 
 
 chairman of the company for many years. It was during the 
 first year of his mayoralty of Bradford, in 1851, that the 
 foundation-stone of the hall was laid with Masonic honours. 
 The Bradford Festival Choral Society was also established 
 mainly through his influence, and as its president he gloried 
 in the proud position to which the society attained. In 
 public affairs Mr. Smith acquired equal prominence, he having 
 been the first burgess called upon to sustain the office of 
 Mayor of Bradford for three years in succession, namely, from 
 November, 185 i, to November, 1854. His death occurred at 
 Cliffe Hill, Warley, in July, 1873, at the age of sixty-eight. 
 
 The church of St. Andrew, at Lister Hills, was erected 
 in 1852 at a cost of ;;^3000. The building was consecrated 
 by the Bishop of Ripon on September 28, 1853. The 
 tower has since been added. Lister Hills Independent 
 Chapel dates its origin from the little preaching-room 
 established by Mr. Samuel Smith, at Preston Place. The 
 chapel was opened in 1854, and in its erection and subsequent 
 well-being Mr. Smith took an active interest. 
 
 When the various wards of the borough were rearranged 
 by the Town Council a short time ago, Lister Hills was made 
 to include a very large portion of Little Horton, and the 
 upper boundary was fixed at the centre of Trinity Road, 
 Grafton Street, and Caledonia Street. Many people thought 
 at that time that some entirely new name would have been 
 better than an old one which represented a mere fraction of 
 the newly formed area, Lister Hills proper being solely that 
 part of the old hamlet and district of Little Horton lying 
 between the stream called West Brook and the township of 
 Manningham. 
 
 Ashfield, or the " Happy Valley," as it was termed from 
 its being colonised by Quakers, was originally a portion of the 
 Giles (or Sharp) estate, until the advantage of the site for 
 residential purposes was recognised by John Armistead and 
 Wm. Frazer Hoyland, two Bradford grocers, members of the 
 Society of Friends. The situation was indeed very pleasant, 
 all the land being open around Ashfield, with a clear stream 
 running down the valley. Another company of Quaker 
 builders erected residences in Westbrook Place, on the opposite 
 
 O
 
 210 Rambles Round H or ton. 
 
 side of the valley, giving rise to the " happy " name by 
 which for many years this immediate locality was known. 
 James Ellis, also ' a Friend, erected West Lodge, now the 
 residence of Alderman Nathan Drake, and in it he resided 
 for some time. The "four ashes," — a tree four stems of which 
 grew from one root — and said to be about half way between 
 Hull and Liverpool, once stood near to the top of Ashfield. 
 It fell to the ground in November, 1835, completely blocking 
 up the highway opposite.
 
 Rambles Round H or ton. 211 
 
 C II A P T \i R XIX. 
 
 Religious Organisations— The Wesleyans— The Old School at Todley— Hunt Yard 
 Chapel— The Old Bell Chapel - Rev. .Samuel Redhead— Rev. J. C. Boddington— 
 Rev. John Harrison— Rev. G. M. Webb — St. John the Evangelist — Moravian 
 Chapel, Paternoster f'old — Primitive Methodism -Wesley Place Chapel — The 
 Congregationalists . 
 
 In "rambling" about Great Horton no mention was 
 made of the religious organisations and several other matters, 
 in order that the topographic survey upon which we set out 
 might be presented in a connected form. The omission may 
 now be supplied, and in so doing a chapter may be devoted 
 to the religious societies of the place. 
 
 Among existing organisations the honour of first starting 
 a school and place of worship in Great Horton belongs to 
 the Wesleyans, who set about the erection of the small 
 building at Old Todley (the present site of Broadbent's Mill), 
 which, as previously stated, was completed in the year 1766. 
 A class had been formed in Great Horton, however, long 
 before this period. 
 
 In Stamp's " History of Methodism " we read that 
 "amongst those who at this early period (1747) joined the 
 ranks of Methodism was Nathaniel Dracup, of Great Horton ; 
 a steady, moral young man, then in his nineteenth year, who 
 subsequently became one of the most exemplary and useful 
 members of the Wesleyan Society." Dracup was a native of 
 Idle, but early in life removed to Great Horton, and in all 
 likelihood was the first Methodist in the then small village. 
 He was the leader of the first class formed in Great Horton, 
 and for many years previous to the erection of the school at 
 Todley, the services were held beneath his roof He died 
 in 1798, aged sixty-nine, and was of course buried in the 
 ground at Old Todley, but his remains were among those 
 removed to Hunt Yard, when the oak coffin in which he lay 
 was repolished by his son. Among the literary remains of 
 Nathaniel Dracup is a touching " Elegy " written by him on 
 the death of the celebrated Rev. Wm. Grimshaw, of Haworth, 
 to whom he was devotedlv attached.
 
 212 Rambles Round Horton. 
 
 Nathaniel Dracup, described as a " shuttlemaker, Great 
 Horton," was a party to the deed of erection of the old 
 Octagon Chapel at Bradford in the year 1765, and he was one 
 of the society stewards, Bradford being at that early period 
 regarded as a branch of the Birstall circuit. He had a son 
 Nathaniel, also a son George, the father of Sammy Dracup, 
 who, with his sons, were noted shuttlemakers and makers of 
 jacquard engines when first introduced. The Dracups have 
 been devoted Wesleyans throughout their history. 
 
 From the first " catalogue of the societies " in connection 
 with the Bradford circuit, issued in 1781, we obtain the names 
 of the class leaders and local preachers at Great Horton at 
 that period, who were as follow: — John Murgatroyd, Nathaniel 
 Dracup, John Hodgson, Richard Fawcett, Thos. Dobson, 
 John Shutt, John Smith, James Wilkinson, John Haley, 
 Jonathan Hudson, and James Throp. Including Clayton 
 Heights and Brown royd, there were at that period 175 
 members in the Great Horton Society. 
 
 In the year 18 14, the old school at Todley becoming far 
 too small to contain the increasing society and congregation, 
 a new and spacious chapel (first called Hunt Yard Chapel), 
 holding about 500 persons, was erected. Such was the desire, 
 however, to occupy the new chapel, that service was held in it 
 some months before its actual completion, and on Easter 
 Tuesday, 1815, its formal opening took place, the Revs. 
 Robert Newton and James Everett preaching on the occasion. 
 
 The trust deed bears date May ist, 181 5, and is signed 
 by the following persons as trustees, viz. : — Nathaniel Dracup, 
 John Ramsden, Jonas Milnes, Eli Suddards, Joseph Wilkinson, 
 Roger Milnes, John Suddards, John Fawcett, James Brooks- 
 bank, Thomas Stocks, William Holdsworth, William Nettleton, 
 John Mason, George Dracup, Samuel Bentley, William Lee, 
 and Thomas Ramsden. In 1820 a commodious school-room 
 was erected on the chapel premises at a cost of £'}f)0. This 
 was subsequently enlarged. In 1830 the land, originally on 
 lease and subject to an annual rent of ^^"16, was converted into 
 freehold at an additional expense of ;^300, on which occasion 
 the trust deed of the whole premises was renewed. This 
 deed bears date November 17th, 1830. In 1834 the chapel
 
 Rambles Round Hoy ton. 213 
 
 premises were rendered still more complete by the erection of 
 a preacher's house adjoining the chapel, its first occupant being 
 the Rev. Benjamin Pearce. Annexed to the chapel was the 
 burial-ground. 
 
 On the erection of the Church Sunday School at Horton 
 in 1808, under the auspices of the Rev. John Crosse, vicar of 
 Bradford, the Sabbath school which for many years had been 
 held by the Methodists in their ancient school and preaching- 
 room was transferred to the Church, and as a Methodist 
 school was not revived till twelve years afterwards. But for 
 this circumstance the Horton Wesleyan Sunday School might 
 have claimed the precedence of well nigh every other in the 
 West Riding. In 1842 the Great Horton circuit was formed 
 of places mostly taken from that of Bradford West. Since 
 that period the Great Horton Wesleyan Chapel has been 
 much enlarged, and, with its accessories, forms one of the 
 most valuable Conference properties in the county. 
 
 The memorial stone of the Wesleyan Day and Sunday 
 Schools was laid by Thomas Farmer, Esq., of Arthington 
 Hall, on the 30th day of August, 1859, and the schools were 
 opened in the year i860. The cost of the erection was about 
 ^^3000, raised by subscriptions and a Government grant of 
 ii'ioso. 
 
 Many of the above particulars have been obtained from 
 the historical notices of Wesleyan Methodism by the Rc\'. W". 
 W. Stamp, which were compiled while that gentleman was 
 stationed at Great Horton during the years 1838-40. The 
 rev. gentleman may indeed be claimed as a Bradford man, 
 having been born here in 1801, while liis father, the Rev. 
 John Stamp, was stationed in Bradford. The Rev. W. W. 
 Stamp, was elected President of the Conference in i860, and 
 died in Liverpool in January, 1877. 
 
 The records of Methodism in Great Horton furnish many 
 examples of devotion to the societ}-, if space permitted us to 
 enlarge upon the topic. Thomas Peel is said to have been 
 the first subscriber to the new chapel at Hunt Yard. Nathan 
 Bentley, with his large family of sons, was also a prominent 
 figure, and the record, however incomplete, should contain the 
 names of Ramsden, Blamires, Dracup, Jennings, White,
 
 214 Rambles Round Horton. 
 
 Myers, Shepherd, and Greenwood. In former times there 
 was a " warmth " in the services of which the present con- 
 gregation have httle experience. The elder members have 
 still a lively recollection of one " local," named James Carter, 
 whose deep and powerful voice was often heard exhorting the 
 people. Dick Throp had also one of the strongest voices in 
 the village, and used it vehemently. Willie Thornton, a 
 class leader, was nearly equal to him in lung power, and 
 was greatly gifted in devotion. Other equally prominent 
 Methodists were Job Robertshaw and W. Crabtree. 
 
 It was the custom in those days for Methodists to have 
 preaching service every Sunday morning at five o'clock. 
 James Carter, who was also a fine bugle player, would go an 
 hour before that time to different corners of the village, and 
 with some fine old psalm tune would arouse the people to early 
 morning service. The anniversary, or " sitting-up," was also a 
 great event. Financially, however, these occasions did not 
 compare well with the present day. If ^^25 was raised it 
 was thought a great sum ; but after the Disruption in 1850 
 the Reformers and the Old Body could each raise more than 
 treble that amount. 
 
 There being no Episcopalian church nearer to Great 
 Horton than Bradford or Thornton, a movement was started 
 for the erection of a church, and the Old Bell Chapel was 
 built in the year 1806, and consecrated on July ist, 1809, as 
 a chapel of ease to the Parish Church of Bradford. It was a 
 plain structure, without any attempt at architectural effect. 
 The original cost was ;(^I200, which was raised by subscrip- 
 tion, Mr. John Rand the elder being one of the principal 
 contributors. The communion plate was presented to the 
 chapel by Mrs. Lister, of Manningham. A record of the 
 original erection and subsequent addition is preserved in the 
 following inscriptions : — 
 
 This chapel of case, subjecl to the Parish Church of Bradford, was 
 built by subscription in the year of our Lord 1806. This clock put up 
 
 in 1808. 
 
 Joseph Beanland, John Blamires, Churchwardens. 
 
 This vestry built and chapel repaired by the town a.d. 1823. 
 
 Rev. J. C. BODDINGTON, Incumbent. 
 Joseph Gomersall, John Blamire.s, Churchwardens.
 
 Rambles Round H or ton. 216 
 
 The site was taken from the waste land of Horton. The 
 perpetual curacy, first valued at ;^99 per annum, was 
 augmented in 1810 with ^200 of Queen Anne's Bounty, and 
 in 181 3, 1818, and 1821 with sums amounting to ^^"1800 in 
 Parliamentary grants. The Vicar of Bradford is the patron. 
 The first baptism was dated July 2, 1809, and was that of 
 William, son of James and Rebecca Bennett. Since that 
 date the number of baptisms has been 2785, and the burials 
 28 17, the first burial being that of John Fox, woolcomber, 
 aged sixty-three, who died July 25th, 1809. 
 
 The first incumbent appointed to the Old Bell Chapel 
 was the Rev. Samuel Redhead. Mr. Redhead was not 
 resident in Great Horton during his incumbency, but lived 
 at Fawcett Hill, Horton Road, in the house afterwards 
 occupied by Dr. Brown, where he kept a school described as 
 a classical academy. Mr. Redhead laboured very earnestly 
 in Horton till the year 1822, when the living of Haworth 
 was presented to him, but the people of that district would 
 not have him as their vicar, not from any personal dislike to 
 him, but because he had been presented by the Vicar of 
 Bradford. The strange scenes which were enacted in 
 Haworth Church during;: his initiation have been oft referred 
 to. After three weeks' possession of the living he resigned, 
 and was afterwards appointed to the living of Calverley, 
 havinsf shortlv before married Miss Rand, sister of Messrs. 
 John and William Rand. He died in August, 1845. 
 
 During the incumbency of Mr. Redhead there was 
 commenced the movement for the erection of the National 
 School, which was built by public subscription in the year 
 1808. The Sunday school up to this period had been con- 
 ducted in two cottages in Bartle Fold. This building also 
 stood upon the waste, and in front were placed a pair of 
 stocks, which were a terror to evil-doers. 
 
 The next incumbent after Mr. Redhead was the Rev. 
 J. C. Boddington, who was curate of the Parish Church of 
 Bradford at the time of his appointment, but came from 
 Leamington. Mr. Boddington was well fitted for the position 
 to which he was appointed, not only as an able minister of 
 the gospel, but also as having considerable skill in medicine.
 
 216 Rambles Round Horton. 
 
 In his labours at Great Horton he was the means of doing 
 great good both spiritually and bodily. He was an able 
 pulpit speaker, a good classical scholar, and had considerable 
 acquaintance with natural philosophy. 
 
 Although the stipend was small, the respected incumbent 
 wanted not for means, assistance being tendered him by 
 others. He was the only man in Great Horton who was 
 vouchsafed the title of " Mr." Mr. Boddington was obliged 
 to resign the living at Horton owing to ill-health, and went to 
 reside at Cheltenham, where he died in 185 i. His assistant, 
 Dave Hartley, by frequently accompanying the rev. gentleman 
 on his visits to the sick, also acquired a knowledge of physic, 
 and kept up the " practice." 
 
 The Rev. John Harrison was appointed incumbent on 
 the resignation of Mr. Boddington, and laboured in Horton 
 till the year i860. During his incumbency a movement was 
 started for the erection of new schools, the Old Bell School 
 being too small for the number of children who wished to 
 attend. A committee was appointed for the purpose of 
 collecting subscriptions for the erection of the schools, which 
 were commenced in the summer of 1859, ^1^^ memorial stone 
 being laid on Saturday, December 3rd, 1859, t)y Mr. F. S. 
 Powell. The schools were opened in November, i860, when 
 the occasion formed a " red-letter day " in Horton ; no fewer 
 than 1200 persons sat down at the tea party in connection 
 with the event. The site occupied by the schools was 
 conveyed to Mr. Henry Mason on behalf of the trustees b}' 
 Mrs. Charnock, of Halifax, Mr. Thomas Horsfall, of Burley 
 Hall, and others. It previously formed part of closes of land 
 called the Middle Field, Clover Field, and Green Field, and 
 contained about 4851 square yards. It was subsequently 
 conveyed by Mr. Henry Mason to the Archdeacon of Craven 
 for the sum of ;i6^363 16s. 6d. 
 
 The premises were opened as a day-school in 1861, 
 Mr. Dovey being the first master, and Miss Armitage 
 the first mistress. The present master is Mr. Robt. 
 VVaite, under whom the schools hav^e flourished for many 
 years. The Old J3cll Chapel lias been converted into an 
 infant school.
 
 Rambles Round Morton. 21'*^ 
 
 The Rev. J. Harrison married a sister of Sir Wm. Wright, 
 of Hull, formerly of Bradford, and exchanged livings with the 
 Rev. G. M. Webb, vicar of Aughton, in the East Riding, in 
 April, i860. 
 
 During Mr. Webb's incumbency the new church of 
 St. John the Evangelist was erected, and also the present 
 vicarage, a site for the latter being begged by Mr. Webb, who 
 also solicited all the money required for its erection. As a 
 safe foundation for a steeple could not be found, in con- 
 sequence of the ground being undermined, Lhe Old Bell 
 Chapel site was abandoned, and the new church erected on 
 the brow of the hill overlooking the Thornton Valley, upon a 
 plot of ground given by Mr. F. S. Powell. The foundation 
 stone of the new edifice was laid on Easter Tuesday, 1871, by 
 the late Mr. John Rand, and the consecration took place on 
 March 9th, 1874. 
 
 The cost of the new church was ^"7000, exclusive of the 
 tower, the erection of which was deferred for a time. 
 Towards this large amount handsome contributions were 
 given as follow : — William Rand, ^^1350 (in addition to 
 oak pulpit, reading-desk, font, and communion plate) ; 
 Francis S. Powell, ;^iioo (and site); Henry Mason, ;^500 ; 
 J. J. Broadbent, ^^500 ; George Turner, £500 ; &c. The 
 church is of large proportions, in Early Gothic, and was 
 designed by Messrs. Healey, of l^radford. The tower and 
 spire were added during last year, at a cost of ^1800, towards 
 Avhich donations of iS^SOO each were given by Messrs, George 
 Turner, J. J. Broadbent, and F. S. Powell. Mr. Webb's 
 labours in connection with Horton Church and Schools will 
 not soon be forgotten. After a residence in Horton of fifteen 
 years, he exchanged livings with the Rev. W. T. Storrs, vicar 
 of Heckmondwike, in April, 1875. Mr. Storrs was a physician 
 as well as clergyman, and worked hard during his short stay 
 in Horton. The present vicar is the Rev. James Gallic, M.A., 
 formerly of St. Luke's, Bradford. 
 
 We are debarred from indulging in the many reminis- 
 cences which are interwoven with the history of the Old Bell 
 Chapel, Although possessing no savour of antiquity, still 
 that history covers the lifetime of the oldest inhabitants of
 
 218 Rambles Round Norton. 
 
 Great Horton with a few exceptions, and many there are who 
 have something to tell of its former incumbents or worshippers. 
 We must be content with stating that Joseph Beanland, of 
 Beckside, was the first churchwarden at Bell Chapel. Mr. 
 James Walmsley was clerk of the chapel for twenty-six years, 
 during the incumbencies of the Rev. Mr. Redhead and the 
 Rev. Mr. Boddington. Joseph Lofthouse, who died in 1837, 
 had been sexton since its erection in 1806. Nathaniel 
 Dracup, a former bass singer at Bell Chapel, may be named 
 as representing the choir. Among the earnest workers 
 connected with the old Bell Sunday School were Henry 
 Mason, Edward Cockerham, George Beanland, Richard 
 Haley, whose labours have left impressions which will never 
 be forgotten. 
 
 Of the early schoolmasters at the Old School, we have 
 record of one named Sutton, who was succeeded by Tom 
 Hirst, generally called " Hunting Tom," the secretary of the 
 Bradford Coursing Club, and for many years steward to the 
 Rev. Godfrey Wright. Then there was Ben Hartley, and next 
 George Laycock. The latter had a great name in Horton. 
 He was the son of Lazarus Laycock, chapelkeeper of the 
 Moravian Chapel in Paternoster Fold, and had previously 
 received his training at the Fulneck establishment. 
 
 The Paternoster Fold Moravian Chapel was established 
 in August, 1742, the first year that the pioneers of the United 
 Brethren came into Yorkshire, and it continued to be occupied 
 by the Moravians till after the erection of the present chapel 
 in Little Horton Lane, the foundation stone of which was 
 laid on May 15th, 1838, and it was opened December 28th 
 the same year. 
 
 The Old Chapel must have been built long before it was 
 occupied by the Moravians. At the time it was first occupied 
 by them there was not a building to break the view all the 
 way to Bradford. In front of the chapel and the adjoining 
 houses there used to be four large ash trees, and when the 
 weather was fine the Moravians often held their meetings 
 outside under the .shade of the trees. Lazarus Laycock was 
 chapel-keeper at Morton above twenty years ; he died April 
 24th, 1837. The Horton Chapel was soon after deserted, and
 
 Rambles Round Horton. 219 
 
 the chapel made into a cottage dwelling, which was occupied 
 by George Laycock and his two sisters. 
 
 The introduction of Primitive Methodism to Great 
 Horton may be ascribed to the Rev. John Coulson, of Leeds, 
 who in May, 1821, visited Great Horton as a Primitive 
 Methodist missionary. During the summer months meetings 
 were held in the open air, but very soon a barn-house at 
 Upper Green was hired for religious services, and a society 
 was formed consisting of eleven members. This barn-house 
 not being very comfortable, the little church rejoiced exceed- 
 ingly when they subsequently had secured the upper room of 
 a cottage in Southfield Lane. 
 
 In 1824, when their numbers had increased to forty 
 members, it was decided to purchase the plot of land at Town 
 t^nd, on which the chapel now stands, with burial ground in 
 front. The foundation-stone was laid on Saturday, the 22nd 
 January, 1825, the collection made at the stone-laying 
 amounting to ^^3 4s. 4^d. This was a very feeble com- 
 mencement ; but the society consisted of very poor members, 
 and what they were short in money they made up by labour, 
 for all the excavating work was done without cost to the 
 society. 
 
 The total cost of the new chapel was ;^ 803 lis. 2d., the 
 income £11^ 18s. 6^d., leaving a debt of ^^685 12s. 7 ^^d. 
 The persons who became responsible for the debt and who 
 were made trustees, were John Waugh, Thomas Haigh, 
 George Broadbent, Thomas Cockroft, James Hanson, Timothy 
 Bartle, Edward Rawnsley, Daniel Holroyd, John Peel, 
 Benjamin Beanland, Joseph Northrop, William Greaves, and 
 Thomas Bartle. 
 
 The following extracts from the deed of conveyance, 
 which was made the 21st day of May, 1825, will show with 
 what care the trusts were guarded against loss : — 
 
 That if at any time it shall happen that the toleration allowing 
 Protestant Dissenters to assemble together for worship shall be taken 
 away, then the said chapel shall be sold. 
 
 That the proceeds of the said sale shall be placed out at interest, 
 and the amount thereof paid annually to the poor belonging to said 
 society living within two miles thereof.
 
 220 Rambles Roimd Norton. 
 
 That if at any time after such sale the Protestant Dissenters, called 
 Primitive Methodists, shall be again tolerated by the laws of this realm, 
 then the principal of such investment shall be called in, and the amount 
 expended in erecting another building for the purposes of original chapel, 
 &c. 
 
 These early Primitive Methodists, or "Ranters," as they 
 were called, owing to their extraordinary zeal, would 
 frequently walk to Leeds and back on a Sunday to hear a 
 travelling preacher or to be present at a camp meeting. 
 At that day they were distinguished, the women by their 
 plainness of dress and large Leghorn bonnets, and the men 
 by their knee-breeches and stand-collar, fish-bellied coats. 
 Indeed, it was considered a sad conformity to the world 
 and very heterodox when men belonging to the body of 
 Primitive Methodists began to wear what were called " long- 
 sleeved breeches." When it was decided to build, trade 
 was flourishing in Great Horton, but before the village had 
 been canvassed for subscriptions the Weavers' Union struck 
 for an advance of wages, a great number of people were 
 thrown out of employment, and never had the chance of 
 further work in that branch of business. Many had to 
 change their occupation or emigrate, which circumstance 
 fell hard upon the chapel funds. In 1840 a new trust was 
 formed, and subsequently, by means of a bazaar, subscrip- 
 tions, and collections, the debt was reduced to £600. 
 
 In 1 85 1 a plot of land behind the chapel at Town End 
 was purchased at a cost of £()2 5s. iid., but it was not till 
 1 86 1 that a new school was built upon it at a cost of i^553, 
 which was cleared from debt in 1863. Further enlargements 
 took place in 1865, and again in 1868, at a cost of i^iioo. 
 In March, 1864, the surviving trustees of the deed of 1840 
 sought to be relieved, and the trusts of the chapel and school 
 were conveyed to Joseph Wilson, Geo. Frankland, Joseph 
 Crabtree, Daniel Pollard, Cephas J. Wilson, Skirrow Peanland, 
 Thos. Petty, Joseph Rhodes, Joseph Pickles, Charles Whitaker, 
 all members of society, with David Bartle continuing 
 trustee. 
 
 The new trustees then decided to enlarge the chapel and 
 "pew" the bottom, which was done in 1865 at a cost of
 
 Rambles Rottnd Norton. 221 
 
 i^ioSo. Subsequently i^350 was spent upon a new organ. 
 In 1868 a branch school was formed at Jer Lane, and on the 
 25th June, 1871, the wood school chapel, at Horton Bank, 
 which had been erected at a cost of £6\J, was opened. On 
 February 4, 1883, another branch school chapel was opened 
 at Dirkhill, near Horton Park Station, the total cost of which 
 was ;^1300. 
 
 Wesley Place Chapel was erected in 185 1, being the 
 outcome of the Methodist disruption which took place in 
 1850. The foundation-stone was laid on Shrove Tuesday, 
 and the chapel was opened for worship on the morning of 
 Whit-Sunday of that year. So vigorous was the movement 
 of Wesleyan reform in Great Horton at that time that the 
 chapel had to be enlarged in 1852, and was made to seat 850 
 persons. The total cost of the original premises and enlarge- 
 ment was ;^2523. 
 
 During the ten years from 1851 to 1861 the congregation 
 formed part of the Great Horton District of Wesleyan 
 Reformers, the ecclesiastical constitution of which was 
 essentially Congregational Independency. This system was, 
 however, too far in advance of Wesleyan ism to be at once 
 easily adopted by many of those who had been trained under 
 the latter system, and the result was that, whilst a large 
 portion gradually became familiarised with the working of 
 Independency, and desired to see it consistently carried out 
 and distinctly avowed, others clung to old traditions with a 
 tenacity which hindered the entirely harmonious co-operation 
 which was desirable. Almost instinctively adopting Con- 
 gregational principles of church order, and feeling that the 
 movement had passed out of the Wesleyan reform stage, the 
 Great Horton congregation proposed that the circuit should 
 adopt the name " Congregational Methodists." The proposal 
 did not meet the approval of the other congregations, and in 
 1 86 1 the Great Horton congregation found itself alone, some 
 of the others having become affiliated with already established 
 sections of Methodists, and the rest retaining their original 
 designation. Naturally the isolation thus brought about drew 
 the Great Horton church towards the Congregationalists. 
 with whom they are now allied.
 
 222 Rambles Round Horton. * 
 
 The Congregational schools in connection with the above 
 chapel were built in 1868. The memorial-stone was laid by 
 Mr. Edward Baines, of Leeds, on June 2nd, 1868, and the 
 total cost of the building, including the cost of the site and 
 furnishing, amounted to £7254 17s. ii^d. A subscription 
 list was opened to defray the cost, and was very liberally 
 responded to ; and what was thought at the time to be a 
 final effort to clear off the debt on the building was made by 
 the opening of a Fine Arts and Industrial Exhibition, under 
 distinguished patronage, on Wednesday, August 17th, 1870, 
 by the late Lord Frederick Cavendish. This exhibition 
 remained open until November 30th, 1870, during which time 
 it was visited by 71,495 persons, including season-ticket 
 holders, and realised a sum of i^i888. 
 
 What is called the " Iron Church " was erected in the 
 autumn of 1871, and the opening services were held on the 
 9th day of November of that year. The church adopts Con- 
 gregational principles, and seceded from Wesley Place Chapel 
 before the decision in the " Great Horton Chapel Case," a suit 
 at law which created considerable feeling in the neighbourhood 
 at one time. 
 
 The " Jumpers " of Horton, as they were called on account 
 of their fantastic manner of conducting their religious services, 
 located themselves in a large room in Bartle Fold in the 
 spring of 1837, and were led by a Mr. Benjamin Deighton, 
 from Little Horton. They, however, made little progress, 
 and eventually gave up the premises.
 
 Rambles Roimd Horton. 228 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 Social features of Great Horton — Working Men's Radical Association — the Democratic 
 Institute — Liberal Club— Mechanics' Institute — Horton Old Rand — Great Horton 
 Industrial Society — the Ashton Dole — Horton Octogenarians — Conclusion. 
 
 The miscellaneous jottings with which we must conclude 
 this series of " rambles round the townships " mostly refer to 
 Great Horton, where, in a far higher degree than is the case 
 in the adjoining hamlet, the characteristics and institutions of 
 a village community are found. Indeed, it would be more 
 proper to speak of Little florton as a district than as the 
 name given to a community. Latterly, by the great increase 
 of population, that district has almost completely lost its 
 individuality, and has become absorbed in the town of 
 Bradford. 
 
 In the spring of 1837 thirty or forty young men regularly 
 assembled at a building at Low Green, where they were 
 taught without charge the rudiments of education by Mr. 
 Jude Yates. Notwithstanding their defective knowledge the 
 majority were possessed of political notions, and not a few 
 were enamoured of the philosophical speculations of Paine. 
 The result of this gathering was the formation of the Working 
 Men's Radical Association. The society had a vigorous 
 existence, being visited at times by Feargus O'Connor, Henry 
 Vincent, John Cleaver, and other pronounced Radicals, such as 
 Peter Bussey, Squire F'arrar, John Jackson, Chris. 'VVilkin.son,&c. 
 The Chartist agitation already alluded to upset the arrange- 
 ments of the association, but the effect of the training 
 thus received was not lost. In the year 1842, after a revision 
 of the rules of the Mechanics' Institute, a number of members 
 became disaffected in consequence of the prohibition of the 
 discussion of political subjects in the Institute, and a new. 
 institution called the " Democratic Institute " was formed in 
 a house al Upper Green, which combined the discussion of 
 political and religious questions in addition to the subjects 
 usually comprised withifi the compass of the Mechanics' 
 Institute, This society had a prosperous existence for many
 
 224 Rambles Round Norton. 
 
 years, and continued till 1869, when its effects were sold or 
 distributed amongst the members. There is no doubt that 
 the above associations exerted a great influence in educating 
 the inhabitants in those advanced Liberal principles for which 
 the Great Horton Ward is distinguished. 
 
 The present Great Horton Liberal Club was established 
 in February, 1871. For three years a cottage in High Street 
 was used as a place of meeting. Subsequently a limited 
 liability company was formed for the erection of a club house, 
 which was opened on March 20, 1876. The building is lofty 
 and commodious, and was erected at a cost of .;^2O0O, 
 exclusive of the site. A Conservative Club has also been 
 recently established in High Street. 
 
 In the latter end of March, 1839, four persons, viz., 
 Messrs. John Wood, Chas. Topham, George Sunderland, and 
 Ephraim Watmough, remained after the close of the night 
 school then conducted by Mr. Wood in the Church school, 
 usually called the Bell school, to consider the propriety of 
 forming a Mechanics' Institute in Great Horton, and an 
 engagement was entered into by those present to bear the 
 cost of convening a public meeting for that purpose. A 
 placard was issued on April 23rd, 1839, in the Church School- 
 room, and a meeting was held, Mr. John Wood, schoolmaster, 
 in the chair, when it was resolved — " That an institution be 
 immediately formed to be called the Horton Mechanics' 
 Institute, or Society for the Acquisition of Useful Knowledge." 
 Twenty-four members were enrolled at the meeting, and the 
 society continued in existence for about thirty years, when the 
 library and effects were sold to liquidate its debts. Among 
 the early workers in the movement were Mr. Peter Fox and 
 the late George Lay cock. 
 
 Long ago Great Horton was famous for its band of 
 instrumentalists, a revival of which has been set afoot within 
 recent years. The name of the earlier society was the Horton 
 Old Band, its meeting place being Pickles Hill Top. As it 
 may be interesting to learn the composition of this famous 
 band, we append the names of the players in the year 1820, 
 and the instruments they used, viz. : — Leader, Pklward 
 Topham, who played the clarionet ; 2, Isaac Rawnsley^
 
 Rambles Round Norton. 225 
 
 clarionet ; 3, Richard Swaine, do. ; 4, John llartlc)', do. ; 
 5, William Swaine, serpent ; 6, Jos. Blamires, do. ; 7, Eli 
 Dracup, do.; 8, Levi Holgate, trumpet; 9, Jonathan Wardman, 
 trombone ; 10, John Holdsworth, do. ; 11, George Hardcastle, 
 do.; 12, James Carter, bugle; 13, Richard Haley, do.; 14^ 
 Chas. Wardman, French horn; 15, William Parker, flute; 
 16, Abraham Jowett, bugle; 17, Matthew Wood, bassoon; 
 18, Edward Flather, triangle; 19, Henry Hindle, drummer. 
 All the above are dead, and the Horton Old Band has long 
 since become defunct. 
 
 The Horton Old Choral Society was also an institution 
 of some note and influence in its day, of which Mr. Ed. 
 Bartle was the leader. At Beldon Hill and the uplands of 
 Horton the custom of " Christmas singing" is kept up as in 
 the olden time, a band of vocalists and instrumentalists 
 turning out in all weathers to herald Christmas morning. 
 
 Great Horton boasts a musical composer of no mean 
 order in the person of Mr. Wm. Hollingworth, whose father 
 and grandfather were also musicians, the latter being choir- 
 master at Horton Lane Chapel in old John Skelton's 
 days. Mr, Hollingworth has composed many instrumental 
 works, glees, part songs, chants, anthems, and fantasias for 
 brass bands, one of his glees, " Here's life and health to 
 England's Queen," having gone through six editions. 
 
 We might have some difficulty in offering statistical 
 confirmation of the fact, but there are grounds for the 
 assertion that a greater amount of thriftiness and husbanded 
 resources exist at Horton than in any other township of the 
 borough in proportion to population. The people, being of a 
 saving turn, naturally adopted the co-operative principle of 
 trading during its early introduction into these parts. The 
 initiatory step was taken at a meeting held at Hew Clews 
 Bottom in the year 1859, the following fourteen working-men 
 being present, namely : — Aaron Shepherd, Rei Riley, George 
 Lofthouse, Alfred Shepherd, Samuel Watmough, John Preston, 
 Harry Topham, John Priestley, John Shepherd, Ellice Atack, 
 Matthew Shepherd, Wm. Shackleton, Wm. Fox, with George 
 Laycock, the latter being secretary. A quantity of flour, 
 groceries, &c., was bought wholesale, and retailed to the 
 
 P
 
 226 Rambles Round Norton. 
 
 fourteen members in the rooms of the Democratic Institute in 
 High Street; Samuel Watmough, one of the number, being 
 appointed to act as salesman. 
 
 That was the beginning of the present Great Horton 
 Industrial Society, Limited, which grew to such an extent 
 that the club-room was soon too small, and a shop just below 
 the Institute was taken, and opened, first only at night, 
 afterwards all day. Even this building was soon found 
 altogether inadequate for the business of the society, and a 
 movement was started which resulted in the erection of 
 the present handsome stores in the year 1861, the site of 
 which (including some old cottages) was purchased from 
 Samuel Suddards, of Tong, for £\ioo. The society has six 
 branches in addition to the central stores, and about 1500 
 members. Its capital amounts to i^i 7,332, and since the 
 year 1863, when the society was enrolled, its turnover has 
 amounted to over half a million of money, out of which it has 
 divided in profits amongst the members over ^40,000. 
 
 What is known as the " Ashton Dole " is a charity, the 
 proceeds of which are derived from property left under the 
 will of John Ashton in 17 12, to be distributed half-yearly 
 among poor people of Horton above sixty years of age who 
 are not in receipt of parish relief The property originally 
 comprised three cottages, a barn, and several closes of land in 
 Horton, let to Jas Gomersall for ^30 per annum ; a black- 
 smith's shop, let to Jabez Balmforth and afterwards to John 
 Garthwaite for £'/ a year ; a farm called Solitary, with about 
 nine acres of land, let to George Briggs and Daniel Dracup at 
 £,\6 3. year. In 1813 the trust was vested in Joseph Barrans 
 as surviving trustee. In 1826 Mr. Barrans invested the 
 charity estate in Joseph Cousen, Thos. Booth, Thos. Ackroyd, 
 and John Bilton as joint trustees. In 1881, however, the 
 trust property was sold, and the proceeds invested in consols, 
 which now realise for the benefit of the poor about £^0 per 
 annum. For a period of about ten years, the dole was 
 distributed by Mr. John Wade. The present trustees are 
 Messrs. James Cousen, Henry Bentley, James Dixon, jun., 
 and Henry Cockerham. John Ashton, the founder of the 
 dole, would in modern phraseology be termed a " miser,"
 
 Rambles Round Horton. 227 
 
 but he made amends for his peculiarities by benefactions 
 at his death. From an inventory of his household goods and 
 chattels it appears that he had accumulated a large quantity 
 of old silver coin, which sold for 5s. id. per ounce, and 
 realised the sum of .^^^147 3s. 
 
 Mr. John James gives in his " Histor}' of Bradford " a list 
 of twenty-two persons all over ninety years of age who died 
 in Horton between the years 1844 and 1863. They were as 
 follow : — Daniel Nelson, Cross Lane ; Elizh. Stead, Clayton 
 Lane ; John Milner, Cousen's Mill ; John Haley, Paradise ; 
 Hannah Lofthouse, Horton Road ; John Riley, Paternoster 
 Lane ; Jon. Briggs, Low Green ; Mary Whitaker, Cordingley 
 Fold ; Elizabeth Emsley, Mill Lane ; Jas. Lister, Cobden 
 Street ; Hannah Jowett, Old Road ; Jonathan Tommis, 
 Southfield Lane ; Martha Greaves, Little Horton ; Michael 
 Craighton, Grafton Street, 95 (had children under twelve years 
 of age when he died) ; Ann Hargreaves, Clayton Lane ; 
 Hannah Hanson, Dog Lane ; Nancy Thewlis, Town End ; 
 Hannah Emsley, Harrington Street ; Hannah Hartley, 
 Villiers Street ; John Gallagher, Duncan Street ; John Wood, 
 Workhouse ; and Hannah Dewhirst, Beckside Road. To this 
 list may be added the names of other Hortonians who have 
 attained over ninety years of age, among them being three 
 members of the Swaine family. James Swaine, of Bank 
 Bottom, who died in 1820, followed the plough in his 
 ninety-fifth year. It is said that a Mrs. Shepherd died at 
 Hew Clews in her 102nd year. Joseph Wardman lived to 
 91 years ; Thomas Priestley, Upper Green, 90 ; Rebecca 
 Topham, 93 ; James Boocock, Great Horton, 97 ; John 
 Wilkinson, 92 ; Joseph Greaves, Great Horton, 95. James 
 Clough, of Little Horton, died in 1871, at 90 years of 
 age ; and Jonathan Bairstow, of Lidget Green, in 1885, aged 
 91. John Topham, of Cliffe Lane, died at over 90 years of 
 age during the same year. He was the son of Moses Topham, 
 and was one of nine children, of whom two died young, the 
 ages of those surviving being respectively 90, 88, 86, 84, So, 
 75, and 74 years. 
 
 The annals of the graveyards at the old Bell Chapel and 
 the Wesleyan Chapel at Horton contain reference to many
 
 228 Rambles Round Horton. 
 
 Hortonians of the present century who reached four-score 
 years and over. From them the following list has been 
 compiled, viz. : — Mary Blagborough, 80 ; Dan Haley, 80 ; 
 Sarah Haley, 81 ; John Schofield, 83 ; Squire Lofthouse 
 (first sexton at Bell Chapel), 82 ; Sarah Blagborough, 86 ; 
 Mary Greenwood, 84 ; Jane Hillam, 84 ; Mary Haley, 84 ; 
 John Wright, 81 ; William Holdsworth, 85 ; Jonathan 
 Holdsworth, ^'^^ ; Hannah Bennett, Bracken Hill, 88 ; David 
 Armitage, '^}^. On a tombstone marking the resting-place of 
 Sarah and Joseph Wardman there is an inscription entitling 
 the aged couple to the Dunmow flitch — 
 
 This aged pair interred here, 
 
 In wedlock sixty-seven year, 
 
 Who ne'er knew either brawl or strife, 
 
 A happy husband, loving wife. 
 
 Sarah died at 85 ; Joseph, her husband, reached 91 years ; 
 Margaret Hallewell, "^6 ; Joseph Holdsworth, 81 ; Ann 
 Holdsworth, 87 ; Jeremy Haley, 81 ; Grace Haley, 81 ; 
 Martha Fox, 81 ; Ben Shackleton, 82 ; John Littlev/ood, 81 ; 
 Sarah Littlewood, 83 ; Joseph Bottomley, 80 ; Sarah Dracup, 
 80 ; Roger Milnes, 87 ; Squire Knowles, '^6 ; Sally Knowles, 
 86 ; John Hanson, 84 ; Mark Barraclough, '^6 ; Mary Black- 
 burn, 84 ; John Hudson, 82 ; Mary Hummel, 85 ; John Smith, 
 84; Susan Harland, 82 ; John Kellet, 82 ; Isaac Wade, 80 ; 
 Mary Bennett, 84 ; Nancy Wardman, 80 ; John Shackleton, 
 80; Stephen Hartley, 83; David Topham, 88; Aaron Topham, 
 86 ; Samuel Peel, 83 ; David Shepherd, 82 ; Ann Carter, '^6 ; 
 Abram Bentley, 81 ; Ann Bentley, 81 ; Sally Roper, 84; 
 Henry Dewhirst, 80 ; Jonathan Jowett, 85 ; John Bakes, 80 ; 
 Sarah Binns, 83 ; Mary Edmondson, 83 ; Prudence Hartley, 
 84 ; Jonas Fox, 83 ; Stephen Farrand, 84 ; Timothy Jennings, 
 
 84 ; Eli Suddards, 86 ; Elizabeth Suddards, 80 ; Hannah 
 Suddards, 87 ; Mary Cliff, ^6 ; Jonas Priestley, 88 ; Mary, 
 wife of Joseph Swaine, 83 ; Jonas Jowett, of Beldon Hill, 81 ; 
 Jonas Jowett, 82 ; Peter Butterfield, 80 ; Joshua Ormondroyd, 
 
 85 ; David Crossley, 88 ; John Ormondroyd, 81 ; Joseph 
 Wood, 83; Betty Emsley, 82; Sarah Dracup, 81; Betty 
 Barraclough, 80 ; Mary Shackleton, 80 ; Alice Smith, ^"j ;
 
 Rambles Round Hoy ton. 229 
 
 Joshua Milnes, 80 ; Joseph Wood, 82 ; Sarah SutcHffe, 88 ; 
 Timothy Jennings, 85 ; Ann Jowett, in her 90th year ; 
 Eliza Holdsworth, 83, Thomas Hudson, "^J ; Mary Greaves, 
 83 ; Hannah Armitage, of Beldon Hill, in her 84th year. 
 Mary Wade, Blacksmith Fold, aged 82 ; John Holroyd, a 
 Waterloo veteran, aged 82 ; Joshua Jowett, Stephenson 
 Fold, aged '^6 ; Mary Verity, Knight's Fold, 89 ; Susey 
 Boyes, Bartle Fold, '^J. The above list, although monotonous 
 to the unappreciative reader, bears ample testimony to the 
 healthiness of Horton, taken in conjunction with the relation 
 which frugal and temperate living has upon the vital ststistics 
 of a community. 
 
 The branch of the Great Northern line of railway from 
 Bradford to Thornton was opened for traffic to Great Horton 
 on October 14, 1878. 
 
 The following record of the population, taken at each 
 decade, shows the rate of progress of the Horton township 
 during the present century as follows : — Census of 1801, 3459; 
 1811,4423; 1821,7192; 1831,10,782; 1841, 17,615; 1851, 
 28,143; 1861,30,187; 1871,40,722; 1881,46,030.
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 20 Jan., 
 1642. WILL of JOHN LISTER, of Ovenden, Yeoman. 
 
 Gives to Daniel Lister, his son, and his heirs, all lands in 
 Northowram which he had purchased of Jeremy Holdesworth, and one 
 messuage and lands, &c., in Shelf, in occupation of James Wallis. 
 Messuage, tenement, &c., and all lands belonging in Ovenden, which 
 he had purchased of Gilbert Deane, Caleb Kempe, and ]\Ioses Jenkins. 
 Also, all that messuage and lands, &c., in Horton, in Bradford dale, 
 in tenure of Andrew Shyers. Remainder to Joseph Lister, his 
 (testator's) son, and his heirs and assigns. 
 
 Gives to said son, Joseph Lister, four messuages, tenements, and 
 three cottages, and all the lands, &c., belonging, in Ovenden, which he 
 had bought of John Weddall, merchant, and Mary, his wife. Also, a 
 messuage and tenement in Clayton, in Bradford dale, in tenure of 
 John Lun. Remainder to aforesaid Daniel Lister. 
 
 Gives to said Daniel and Joseph Lister, his sons, six acres 
 of land and buildings thereon, in North Bierley, which he and a 
 certain Matthew Houldsworth purchased of a certain John Nettleton 
 and Richard Nettleton, in moieties, with remainders to either brother. 
 
 John Lister, the testator's son, and heir apparent, not 21 years 
 of age. 
 
 Gives two messuages and lands, in Wibsey and North Bierley, 
 to Susan, his wife. Reversion thereof to Daniel and Joseph Lister, 
 his sons. 
 
 Leaves Legacies to his Sisters Elizabeth, Grace, and Martha, 
 and to his Brother, Joseph Lister. 
 
 To his Father and Mother a pair of gloves a piece. 
 
 Susan, his wife, executrix and residuary legatee. 
 
 Witnesses— James Foxcroft. 
 E. Hanson. 
 
 Proved ist October, 1644, by Susan, the widow, to whom 
 was committed the guardianship of Daniel and Joseph Lister, her 
 " iinpubes JiliosP 
 
 Mr. Francis Sharp Powell was elected Member of ParHament 
 for Wigan at the General Election in November, 1S85.
 
 GLOSSARY. 
 
 WORDS AND PHRASES IN USE AT GREAT HORTON. 
 
 cutting a great 
 
 Abaght — about. 
 
 Aboon — above. 
 
 Addle — to work for wages. 
 
 Afore — before. 
 
 Agate (" Ger agate")— to do some 
 
 thing. 
 Ageean — again. 
 Ahr ta bahn - -are you going. 
 Aht— out. 
 Akin — related to. 
 All shirt-neck 
 
 figure out of nothing 
 Ashelt — likely or probable. 
 Ass-neuk — under the fire grate. 
 Awf~half. 
 Awkert (Awkward) — queer and 
 
 comical. 
 Awl — all. 
 Awlus — always. 
 Awner — owner. 
 Axt — asked. 
 Az — as 
 
 Bacca — tobacco. 
 
 Backart — backward. 
 
 Badger — a grocer. 
 
 Baght — without. 
 
 Balderdash — talking without sense. 
 
 Bang — to beat, to throw down. 
 
 Barn — a child. 
 
 Batin' time — time for refreshment. 
 
 Bawk — to disappoint. 
 
 Beck'n— to call with the fingers. 
 
 Becoss — because. 
 
 licest — first milk after calving. 
 
 Behunt — signifying behind. 
 
 Bein' — being. 
 
 Belesses — bellows. 
 
 Belling — making a loud noise. 
 
 Bench — a seat. 
 
 Benjey — a straw hat. 
 
 Bezzler — a drunken fellow. 
 
 Blackish — inclining to black. 
 
 Blain — a boil. 
 
 Blame it — an exclamation of dis- 
 appointment. 
 
 Blatter — of which pancakes are 
 made. 
 
 Bleb — a blister. 
 
 Blendit — mixed. 
 
 Blegs — blackberries. 
 
 Blurred- blotted. 
 
 Bocken — to loath. 
 
 Boggard — a subject for scare. 
 
 Bolt- -to run away. 
 
 Bonny — beautiful. 
 
 Bonkful — filled up. 
 
 Booze — to drink. 
 
 Booath — both. 
 
 Bowd — bold. 
 
 Brag — to boast. 
 
 Bray — to hammer. 
 
 Bray'd — to be thrashed. 
 
 Brat — a pinafore ; a child. 
 
 Brass — money. 
 
 Brazzen — bold, shameless. 
 
 Breikfast — the first meal. 
 
 Breeter — brighter. 
 
 Breyk — to break. 
 
 Brig — a bridge. 
 
 Brigs — used to put upon the fire in 
 cookinc 
 
 Britches- 
 
 ISroiched — introducing a subject. 
 
 Brokken — broken. 
 
 Bruarts — the brim of a hat. 
 
 Brussen — over-full. 
 
 Buckstick -a smart young fellow. 
 
 Bugth — great size. 
 
 Bump — a knock 
 
 Bup — addressed to a child to 
 drink. 
 
 Burly — thick, clumsy. 
 
 Butty — joint partnership ; a mate ; 
 word used by bo\s. 
 
 Buzzard — a moth or butterfly. 
 
 By t' mess — an exclamation of 
 surprise or disgust. 
 
 -trousers.
 
 •234 
 
 Glossary. 
 
 Cackle — to talk loud and foolishly. 
 
 Cadeing- 
 
 -begging. 
 
 cat. 
 
 Canker'd — rusty. 
 
 Cant — vigorous, healthy. 
 
 Can't feshun — shamefaced, 
 
 Capp't — astonished. 
 
 Carl — to thrash ; a clown. 
 
 Catterwauling — to imitate a 
 
 Cawf — a calf. 
 
 Cawf-heead — a disparaging remark. 
 
 Chap — a sweetheart. 
 
 Chary — reluctant, cautious. 
 
 Childer — children. 
 
 Chimley — chimney. 
 
 Chock-full — filled to the top. 
 
 Chomping — chewing. 
 
 Chonce — chance. 
 
 Chumps — wood for Gunpowder 
 
 Plot fire. 
 Clahd — cloud. 
 Claggy — thick, sticky. 
 Clammy — greasy. 
 Clatter — noise. 
 Clegged — dry in the mouth. 
 Cletch — a brood of chickens. 
 Clink — to shake up. 
 Cloise — warm, sultry ; a close or 
 
 field. 
 Clotted — sticking together. 
 Clutter — all in a heap. 
 Cocker — fair play. 
 Collops — slices of bacon. 
 Copp't — caught. 
 Cowd — cold. 
 Cowk — a cinder 
 Craan — crown. 
 Craps — rendered fat. 
 Crash — to break with noise. 
 Cratch — an arm chair. 
 Cronk — to sit low down. 
 Crony — a boon companion. 
 Crumple — to disarrange. 
 Cubbert — cupboard. 
 Cuddn't — could not. 
 Cuzzen — cousin. 
 
 Daahn — down. 
 
 Dab — a blow. 
 
 Daddle — to reel. 
 
 Dahn — down. 
 
 Daft — witless. 
 
 Darn— to mend a hole in a stocking. 
 
 Dauntle — to fondle. 
 
 Deeing — dying. 
 
 Deeath — death. 
 
 Ding — to strike. 
 
 Dingle — to make a noise. 
 
 Dish-claat — cloth for washing 
 
 dishes. 
 Dither — to tremble. 
 Doady — a stupid person. 
 Dock — to cut off. 
 Dofft — undressed. 
 Dowter — daughter. 
 Donn'd — dressed up. 
 Donk — a pot marble. 
 Doy — term of endearment. 
 Doytches — ditches. 
 Dree — dry, tedious. 
 Drizzle — to rain softly. 
 Dub — a hole ; a door. 
 Dubbler — a large dish. 
 Dungon — knocked. 
 Dursn't — dare not. 
 
 Ealt — ailing. 
 
 Eaving — the eaves of a house. 
 
 Eawner — owner. 
 
 Eawt — out. 
 
 Eawther — either. 
 
 Eawer — an hour. 
 
 Een — eyes. 
 
 Elliker — vinegar. 
 
 Etten — eaten. 
 
 Eyt — eat. 
 
 Fadge — a bundle. 
 
 Fagged — tired. 
 
 Fawt — fault. 
 
 Fell-aht — to finish a warp ; also to 
 
 disagree. 
 Fellah — fellow ; a husband. 
 Fend — to stir about. 
 Fettle— to clean up. 
 Fib — an untruth. 
 Flash — fine, showy. 
 Flay- craw — an unsightly object. 
 Flayed — frightened. 
 Flecked — unevenly spread. 
 Flegs — a causeway. 
 Flick — a side of bacon. 
 Flittin' — to remove. 
 Flunter — in great haste. 
 Flusk— to fly at. 
 Foisty — stinking. 
 Fowd — fold. 
 Fowk — folk. 
 Fra' — from. 
 
 Fratch — to quarrel with. 
 Freeten — to frighten
 
 Glossary. 
 
 235 
 
 Fussock — a term of reproach ; also 
 
 a donkey. 
 Fusty — to smell bad. 
 
 Gad abaht — to gossip. 
 
 Gape — to yawn. 
 
 Gape-seed — to stare about. 
 
 Gate — way. 
 
 Gaters (Goin' gaters) — accompany- 
 ing part of the way. 
 
 Gawby — a dunce. 
 
 Gawmless — stupid, senseless. 
 
 Gavelock — an iron crowbar. 
 
 Gerse — grass. 
 
 Gern — to look savage. 
 
 Giggle— to laugh sillily. 
 
 Ginnel — a narrow passage. 
 
 Gipp — to vomit. 
 
 Girds — sick fits. 
 
 Gleys — to squint. 
 
 Gleyd — an evil-tempered person. 
 
 Glent — a sly look. 
 
 Glopp't — suddenly frightened. 
 
 Gobble — to swallow without 
 chewing 
 
 Gooid — good. 
 
 Gooid for nowt — a worthless fellow. 
 
 Gooms — gums. 
 
 Gradely — handsomely. 
 
 Gripping — clasped or clinching. 
 
 Gronny — grandmother. 
 
 Hahsumiver — howsoever. 
 Hahse-praad— proud of home. 
 H appen — perhaps. 
 Han' claat — towel. 
 Haver-breead — oatbread. 
 Hawve — half. 
 Hawpenny — halfpenny. 
 Heft — handle of a knife. 
 Heigh-flown— high notions. 
 Heusings — edge of slates on house. 
 Hippins — napkins for infants. 
 Hook or Crook — by one means or 
 
 another. 
 Howd — to hold. 
 Hug — to carry. 
 Hugger-mugger — secret ways. 
 Hursen — herself. 
 
 Inklin' — a slight knowledge. 
 In a pickle — in trouble. 
 I'm dahn on't — no faith in it. 
 Ittha — hear thou. 
 Ivver — ever. 
 
 Jackanapes — a term of derision. 
 
 Jannock — fair play. 
 
 Jawms — the supports of a door or 
 mantel-piece. 
 
 Jerry-berrin' — a previous expe- 
 rience. 
 
 Jock — food. 
 
 Jossled — crushed, knocked abcut. 
 
 Jowled— to be run against. 
 
 Juggled — swindled. 
 
 Kah — cow. 
 
 Kahcummer^cucumber. 
 Kallin' — gossiping. 
 Keel— to cool. 
 Kersnin' — christening. 
 Kersmas — Christmas. 
 Kester— abbreviation for 
 
 Christopher. 
 Kesting — casting off. 
 Kink — to lose the breath with 
 
 coughing. 
 Kink-cough — whooping cough. 
 Kist — a chest. 
 
 Kit — a vessel to carry water. 
 Kittle — ticklish ; liable to be 
 
 upset. 
 Kittlin' — a kitten. 
 Knodden — kneaded. 
 Koil — coal. 
 Kuss — a kiss. 
 
 Lackey — a servant. 
 
 Laith — a barn. 
 
 Laking — playing. 
 
 Lap — to wrap up ; to drink. 
 
 Leather-heead — a term of reproach. 
 
 Leet — light. 
 
 Leet-on — to get a sweetheart. 
 
 Lick — to beat. 
 
 Lig — to lie. 
 
 Limp — to halt. 
 
 Lippen — to expect. 
 
 Living tally — unmarried. 
 
 Loft — a chamber. 
 
 Loich — straight. 
 
 Loizins — losses. 
 
 Lug — to pull by the hair. 
 
 Lumber — household rubbish. 
 
 Maalack — a disturbance. 
 Maddled — stupefied. 
 Map cloth — floor cloth. 
 Maunder — to murmur. 
 Mawky — proud.
 
 •236 
 
 Glossary 
 
 -to get into a mess. 
 
 Mali — to meddle with. 
 
 Mess-abaght — active to no purpose 
 
 ]\Iidge — an insect ; a little person. 
 
 Middlin'^tolerably well. 
 
 Monny — many. 
 
 Mooin — moon. 
 
 Mough — a mow of hay. 
 
 .Mullock- 
 
 Mun — must. 
 
 Munch — to chew. 
 
 Mysen— myself. 
 
 Na ahn ta — thou will not. 
 
 Nab — to steal. 
 
 Nah — now. 
 
 Nap-hand — a clever workman. 
 
 N asty — queer- tempered. 
 
 Nawn — known. 
 
 Near — ^mean. 
 
 Neet — night. 
 
 Nettled —irritated. 
 
 Newk — a corner. 
 
 Ninny — a simpleton. 
 
 Nobbut — only. 
 
 Nominy — a long, prating statement. 
 
 Nowt — nothing. 
 
 Nudge — to jog with the elbow. 
 
 Odds an' en's —odd, trifling things. 
 
 Offans — often. 
 
 Ofifen — often. 
 
 Oined — pulled down ; *' put on." 
 
 Oist — over it. 
 
 On tick— on credit. 
 
 Oppen thi gob — open your mouth. 
 
 Ossiting — coughing. 
 
 Owd— old. 
 
 Pash abaht— to go about hurriedly. 
 Peffing — applied to a short cough. 
 Peggies — an infant's first teeth. 
 Peggy— to stir clothes in washing. 
 Pey — a pea. 
 Peyls aljaht — to go about in a 
 
 rough manner. 
 Pickle — ^to put away. 
 Piggin- — a lading can. 
 Poky — being forward. 
 Pooak — poke. 
 
 Popped — annoyed ; pawned. 
 Prig— ^a pan or posnet. 
 Pumping — obtaining information 
 
 by close questioning. 
 
 Quirk — to shirk duty. 
 
 (2uizzing — to obtain information by 
 
 questioning. 
 Ouicksticks — in a hurry. 
 
 Raffle-coppin — a vagabond. 
 
 Rarely — excellently. 
 
 Reckon — to suppose. 
 
 Reek — smoke. 
 
 Reet— Right. 
 
 Reezy — rancid. 
 
 Reyt — right. 
 
 Rift — to belch wind. 
 
 Rig — ridge of a house. 
 
 Rive — to tear. 
 
 Rodney — to idle time away. 
 
 Roughshod — without consideration 
 
 for another. 
 Rattle — a noise in the throat. 
 
 Sark — to suck. 
 
 Saar — sour. 
 
 Sackless — innocent. 
 
 Scale — to poke a fire. 
 
 Scawp — head. 
 
 Scrawm — to climb. 
 
 Scrunty — little. 
 
 Seeks — sacks. 
 
 Secktacle — a hoist. 
 
 Seed — seen. 
 
 Sell'd— sold. 
 
 Seln — myself. 
 
 Shaat — to shout. 
 
 Shackle — the wrist. 
 
 Shilly-shally — empty ; purposeless. 
 
 Shoin — shoes. 
 
 Sift — to get information slyly. 
 
 Sken — to look aslant ; to squint. 
 
 Slap — a blow. 
 
 Slape-shod —shoes taking water. 
 
 Slash — to cut. 
 
 Slapp't — whipped. 
 
 Slavver — the spittle. 
 
 Slake — to quench the thirst. 
 
 Slaumin' — sleepy or drowsy. 
 
 Sloppy — wet, dirty. 
 
 Slur — to slide. 
 
 Slush — thawed snow. 
 
 Slutter — to fall down. 
 
 Smack — a sharp blow. 
 
 Smooring — smothering. 
 
 Snappy — short ; bad tempered. 
 
 Sneck^a door fastener. 
 
 Snig — to pilfer. 
 
 Snook — to smell. 
 
 Snod — smooth.
 
 Glossary. 
 
 237 
 
 Snuffle — making a noise through 
 
 the nose. 
 Sodden — to soke with wet. 
 Soltch — a heavy fall. 
 Sops — children's food. 
 Split — to tell a secret. 
 Spooin — spoon. 
 Stalled — wearied. 
 Starken — to stiffen. 
 Stawp — to stand still. 
 Steyl— a handle ; the act of stealing. 
 Stint — so much and no more. 
 Stown — stolen. 
 Stooil — a seat. 
 Stroak — two pecks. 
 Stuff — to cram. 
 Suds — a lather. 
 Summat -something. 
 Swad — shell of pea or bean. 
 Swaith — a single row of mown grass. 
 Swarm — to climb. 
 Swarthy — tawny. 
 Swatch — a sample-piece of cloth. 
 Sweeat — sweat. 
 Sweal — to melt. 
 Swelling — overcome with heat. 
 Swig — a hearty drink. 
 Swill— to wash lightly. 
 Swop — to exchange. 
 Syle — to put through a sieve. 
 
 Taan — taken. 
 
 Tak — take. 
 
 Tawk — conversation. 
 
 Tenger- 
 
 Tengs — fire tongs. 
 Tent — to attend ; to nurse. 
 Teych — to instruct. 
 Thoil — to give ungrudgingly, 
 Thowt — thought. 
 Thump — a heavy blow. 
 Tidy-betty — ashpan. 
 Tippling — secret drinking. 
 Tit — a horse or pony. 
 Titter — giggling laughter. 
 Topple — to fall over. 
 Tramp — a vagrant. 
 Trice — speedily. 
 
 Twig- 
 
 -to catch the meaning. 
 
 -a deceiving person. 
 
 Upreyt — upright. 
 
 Varry — very. 
 
 Wack — to strike sharply. 
 
 Wahr — worse. 
 
 Wakey — short of sense. 
 
 Wallop — to beat. 
 
 Wamble — to walk unsteady. 
 
 Ware — to spend. 
 
 Wart — an excrescence. 
 
 Warter — week-day. 
 
 Wax — to grow. 
 
 Wick — alive. 
 
 Wisk — a bundle of rushes. 
 
 Wizzened — shrunk. 
 
 Wokken- -to wake up. 
 
 Yahm — home. 
 
 Yus, ahnt ta — yes, thou will
 
 INDEX 
 
 A 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Abbot, John, the blacksmith 182 
 
 Ackroyd, Cowling, Notice of 183, 184 
 
 Ackroyd, Francis, worsted piece 
 maker ; his numerous family ...138, 139 
 
 Akeroyd, James, FrmiroseHill 177 
 
 All Saints' Church, Horton Green, 
 description of; architect, con- 
 tractor, and cost 135, 136 
 
 Anderson, Rev. Dr., of Troy, U.S.A., 
 successor of Dr. J. R. Campbell, 
 
 Horton Lane Chapel 71 
 
 Annesley Chapel 79 
 
 Area of Township, in acres 14 
 
 Ashley, John, spinner, and presenta- 
 tion to 35 
 
 Ashfield, or the " Happy Valley "... 209 
 
 Ashton Dole 226 
 
 Atkinson, Jonas, clerk 178 
 
 Atkinson, Rebecca, married to Richd. 
 Gorton 178 
 
 Bacon, William, and his widow 56 
 
 Balme, John, one of the original 
 trustees of Horton Lane Chapel ... 56 
 
 Balme, Misses, bequests to Airedale 
 and Horton Colleges 56 
 
 Balme, Abraham, assistant over- 
 seer 17, 141, 142 
 
 Balme, Joshua Rhodes, his labours at 
 Lidget Green 192 
 
 Bamburgh Castle, its historic import- 
 ance, one of the residences of 
 Dr. lohn Sharp 127 — 129 
 
 Baptist College, founded in 1805 ; 
 institution removed to Rawdon in 
 1859 80 
 
 Bairstow, Abraham, a celebrity, and 
 founder of Paddock Dyehouse ... 164 
 
 Barracloughs of Horton 180 — 203 
 
 Barraclough, Tommy, 181 
 
 Barraclough, Mary, married to Rev. 
 James Charnock 181 
 
 Barrans, Jos., farmer, horse dealer, 
 and piece maker 142 
 
 Beacon Hill, height of, 3 
 
 Beanland, Joseph, corn miller and 
 colliery proprietor 174 
 
 Beldon Hill 5 
 
 Beldon Hill derived its name from 
 Benny Beldon, formerly called 
 Upper and Lower Haycliffe ; old 
 
 PAGE 
 
 denizens on Beldon and Pickles 
 Hills ; public Gardens on Beldon 
 
 Hill 160 
 
 Beldon Hill, road dispute and trials 19, 20 
 
 Bell Chapel 16, 214—218 
 
 Bentley, Nathan 201 
 
 Birks Farm, owners and occupiers of 198 
 
 Blagborough family 182, 228 
 
 Black Horse Inn, Pal Hammond, the 
 hostess; her "native Doric" and 
 
 fine old oak bedstead 152, 3 
 
 Blamires family, once numerous and 
 still well represented ; descendants 
 and their occupations ; Timothy, 
 son of William, accounted the 
 
 strongest man in Horton 167 — 169 
 
 Blamires, John, first steward on 
 
 Bridges' Estate 141 
 
 Boddington, Rev. J. C 215 
 
 Booth, Charles, Barrister, takes the 
 name of Swaine, and acquires the 
 property of Swaines and Booths ; 
 married Hannah Gilpin Sharp, 
 and also added name of Sharp 107, 108 
 Booths, early residents on Horton 
 Green ; " Skinny Booth," his pen- 
 urious disposition 137 
 
 Booth, Thomas, piece maker, Horton 
 
 Green 139 
 
 Boundaries of township i, 2 
 
 Bower Family ; Jeremy and Thomas, 
 mercers, during the reign of Queen 
 
 Elizabeth 49> 5° 
 
 Bowling Lane, Manchester Road, in 
 
 the early part of the century 73, 74 
 
 Bradford incorporated in 1849 ; and 
 
 Horton divided into two wards 22 
 
 Bradford Union, including Horton, 
 
 formed in 1837 18 
 
 Bradford Union Workhouse 18 
 
 Bradford Horn 187, 188 
 
 Bradford Waterworks originally sup- 
 
 ]j!ied from Haycliffe Hill to near 
 
 Judy Barrett's shop in Westgate 158 
 
 Proprietors and Number of Shares: 
 
 opposition by some of the 
 
 inhabitants 159 
 
 Bracken Hall and Holly Bank 172 
 
 Bridges, Rev. W. , Rector of Castle- 
 ford 117 
 
 Bridges, Francis Sharp, inheritor of 
 the Leeds and Horton family 
 
 estates 118 
 
 Bridges, Thomas, a noted antiquary 
 and intimate friend of Thoresby... 118
 
 240 
 
 Index. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Brick Castle in Hunt Yard i86 
 
 Broad-dole 112 
 
 Broadbent, J. J., purchases Harris 
 
 Court Mill, notice of 182, 183 
 
 Brooksbank, an old family ; Gilliert, 
 a favourite Christian name ; men- 
 tioned in the Subsidy B.0II of 1608; 
 and another Gilbert paid the 
 Hearth Tax in 1666 ; and a third 
 Gilbert paid a large land tax in 
 1704 ; residences of the family and 
 
 their property 177 — 180 
 
 Brooksbank, ^Iary, the elder 181 
 
 Brooksbank, Joseph, gent 181 
 
 Brooksbanks, the last of 181 
 
 Brooksbank Property, to whom 
 
 descended t 80 
 
 Brooksbank House 182 
 
 Brownroyd, Wibsey-like names 154 
 
 Brimton, John, leather breeches 
 
 maker 66 
 
 Buckley protest 38, 39 
 
 Buckle, John 185 
 
 Burglary at Horton Old Hall 138 
 
 Butterworth & Brookes' disastrous 
 failure 31 
 
 " Calico Coach," run to Manchester 30 
 Calico Manufacturers attending Man- 
 chester market 30 
 
 Calimancoes, how made and singed 25 
 Campbell, Rev. Dr., and his ministry 71 
 Carriers of Cotton Goods to Man- 
 chester 29 
 
 Carter, Tom, Workhouse Master 17 
 
 Centenary Chapel 79 
 
 Charnock Family 181 
 
 Charnocks, allied to, acquired property 
 
 of the Brooksbanks 180 
 
 Charnock, Rev. James, married to 
 
 Mary Barraclough 181 
 
 Chapel Green, site of the first Presby- 
 terian meeting house 155 
 
 Chapel House, the home of the 
 
 Thorntons 155 
 
 Chapel Lane Chapel, in 1719 52, 53 
 
 Chapel Lane, old residents 49, 50 
 
 Chartist Movement 27, 28 
 
 Chimney Accident at Cannan's Mill 35 
 
 Church School, erected in 1808 213 
 
 Church Sunday School, erection of, 216 
 Churchwardens, names of earliest,... 16 
 Clayton, James, mathematician, me- 
 teorologist, and writer 143 
 
 Clayton, John, introduced mule spin- 
 ning by hand ; his sons wool- 
 staplers 143 
 
 Clayton I^ane, once contained a 
 Jerusalem Church, and many fol- 
 lowers of John Wroe 79 
 
 Clothiers and Stuff Makers 24 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Clough, William 184 
 
 Clough, John 184 
 
 Close Top Farm, owners, tenants, 
 
 and alterations in 157 
 
 Coal staiths and waggon roads of the 
 
 Low Moor Company 150, 151 
 
 Coach Road between Bradford and 
 
 Halifax 
 
 Coal got in Horton in 1350 159 
 
 Cockerham, Edward 185, 186 
 
 Cockpit Hill, Beldon and Pickles 
 
 Hills, resorts for cockfighting 162 
 
 Congregational Schools 222 
 
 Constables appointed by the Court 
 
 Leet 16 
 
 Cordingleys, fellmongers, gave ihe 
 name of Skin House to Jacob 
 
 Hudson's farm 78 
 
 Cork-leg business, first makers 66 
 
 Cousens, see Horton Villa 148 
 
 Cousen, William, manufacturer, 
 purchased the manor in 1858 ; 
 acquired the Blamires property by 
 marriage ; his son James, lord of 
 the manor ; the family remarkable 
 
 for stature 148, 173 — 189 
 
 Cousen, John and Charles, eminent 
 line engravers ; titles of some of 
 
 their chief works 146—148 
 
 Cowling Mill 182 
 
 Cricket and Athletic Club, Park 
 Aventie 148, 149 
 
 D 
 
 Dean, Rev. John, Unitarian minister, 
 and treasurer of the Bradford 
 
 Library 53 
 
 Democratic Institute 223 
 
 Denton, Richard 184 
 
 Denton, John 178 
 
 Dixon, Jeremy, bequest to Uni- 
 tarian Chapel 5;5 
 
 Division of Township 15 
 
 "Doles," " gates," and " butts " 156 
 
 Domesday Book description of Horton 6 
 
 Domestic habits of cottagers 25 
 
 Dracup, Saml. , and his improvements 
 in the jacquard and card-cutting 
 
 machines 37 
 
 Dracup, Nathaniel, first Methodist 
 
 in Horton 211, 212 
 
 Drop Farm, the site of Horton Bank 
 Reservoir 163 
 
 E 
 
 Early Methodists in Horton 213, 214 
 
 Early Schoolmasters at Horton 218 
 
 Ebenezer Chapel and its founders ; 
 
 minister ; chajiel re-built in 1&61 ; 
 
 removed to Mannville in 1879 57
 
 Index. 
 
 241 
 
 F 
 
 PAGE 
 
 "Fair Becca," Popular legend of: 
 account of her untimely fate ; 
 remorse and confession of her 
 
 murderer 17", 171 
 
 Fawcett, Dr., born at I^idget Green ; 
 
 his Commentary on the Bible igi 
 
 Fawcett, Stephen, the poet of 
 
 Legrams 204 
 
 Fawcett, Richard, early engaged in 
 the wool trade ; owner of the 
 Holme Mill, and built another in 
 Union Street ; epithet of " King 
 Richard"; his sons, Canon Faw- 
 cett and Richard, a woolstapler...62, 63 
 
 Fawcett, Canon, where born 187 
 
 Field Head Estate 207 
 
 Field Head Dycw orks 207 
 
 Field Head Mills 208 
 
 Field House 208 
 
 Fine Arts Exhibition at Congrega- 
 tional Schools opened by Lord F. 
 
 Cavendish, Aug. 17, 1870 222 
 
 Fitzgerald, Colonel Thos. Geo., his 
 
 descendants 89 
 
 Four Ashes tree blown down 210 
 
 Four Ashes Inn 177 
 
 Fox Family, property owners 163 
 
 Fox, E. K 185 
 
 Freeholders' List, from the subsidy 
 roll of 1608 10,11 
 
 G 
 
 Gallic, Rev. Jameb, M.A. 217 
 
 Gas, where first used in Gt.Horton 15, 16 
 Glossaryof Words and Phrases 233 — 238 
 
 Glyde, Rev. fonathan 71 
 
 "Good Old Times" : Fare and 
 
 Clothing " 26 
 
 Goodmansend, first interment in 
 
 Quaker burial ground 152 
 
 Gorton, Richard iBo 
 
 (jospel Pilgrims' Chapel 150 
 
 Great Northern Railway, opened to 
 
 Horton 229 
 
 Great Horton Liberal Club 224 
 
 Conservative Club ... 224 
 Mechanics' Institute... 224 
 
 Great Horton House 182 
 
 Great Horton Industrial Society 226 
 
 " Greens," no longer open spaces ... 4 
 Greenwoods, of Rrownroyd Fold ... 154 
 Growth of Trade : primitive modes 
 
 of working 23 — 25 
 
 Guytrash Stories, and form of the 
 
 boggard 172 
 
 H 
 
 Haley Family 185 
 
 Haley, Sally 185 
 
 Q 
 
 P.VGE 
 
 Hailstone, Samuel, attorney, his 
 
 family 58, 59 
 
 Hailstone, J'.dward, F.S.A 100, 109 
 
 Haigh, David, the reputed inventor 
 
 of cork legs 66 
 
 Hall Yard 188 
 
 Hall, James 188 
 
 Hall, John 188 
 
 Harrison, Rev. John 216 
 
 Harris Court iM ill 182 
 
 Hare and Hounds Inn, Landlords of 162 
 Hawmonds or Hanmionds, an old 
 Horton family,, landowners, and 
 mentioned in the poll-tax of 1379 ; 
 
 present family 154 
 
 Haycliffe Lane, the residence of a 
 
 branch of the Swaines 157, 158 
 
 Haycliffe Hill '.. 156 
 
 Hearth Money in 1666, and number 
 
 of hearths 12 
 
 Heinekin, Nicholas Thos. , Unitarian 
 
 minister 54 
 
 Hemingway, Henry, attorney 89 
 
 Heywood, Oliver, visits Horton Hall loi 
 Hew Clews, name of and associa- 
 tions ; droll stories of the natives 170 
 Highway Board : officers and their 
 salaries; re-election in 1849; super- 
 seded 1851 20, 21 
 
 Highway Surveyors' Meetings: where 
 
 held 21 
 
 Hill Top Presbyterian Chapel 45 
 
 Hill, Edward, ejected by the Act of 
 
 Uniformity 91 
 
 Hinchliffe, Joseph, a Moravian, an 
 excellent schoolmaster, author of 
 
 several educational works 12, 13 
 
 Hirst Tom, schoolmaster 203, 210 
 
 Hodsden, Mrs 89, 138 
 
 Hodgson, Thomas, of Birks 198 
 
 Hodgson, Thomas, of Scholemoor... i8i 
 
 Hodgson, Thomas, of Boiling 98 
 
 Holme Top Mill, builders, tenants, 
 
 and owner 146 
 
 Holme Top House, past owners 143 
 
 Holdswortli, George, his descendants 161 
 HoUingreavc Lands, alias Spittle 
 
 Roods 112 
 
 Ilollingwood Lane, said to have 
 obtained its name from the holly 
 hedges ; the name of long standing 163 
 Hollingworth, William, musical com- 
 poser 225 
 
 Horton .\mateur Thespians^ 2b 
 
 Horton, named from the manor ; 
 
 branches of the family 6 
 
 Horton nomenclature 10 
 
 Horton Magna, or Great Horton, 
 sparsely tenanted in the beginning 
 
 of the present century 167 
 
 Horton, primilixe character of the 
 
 neighbourhood 96 
 
 Hortonians, thrifty and "saving;" 
 ardent politicians 23
 
 •242 
 
 Index 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Horton Old Hall, built for the 
 
 younger branch of the Sharps 97 
 
 Horton Hall ; the home of the elder 
 branch; description of the building; 
 early resort of Nonconformists for 
 worship ; here Rev. Thomas Sharp 
 officiated some time, afterwards at 
 
 Morley, and Leeds 99 — 109 
 
 Horton Hall, occupants of 107 — 109 
 
 Horton Hall, purchased by V. S. 
 
 I'owell, in 1871 109 
 
 Horton Listers, long residence in the 
 neighbourhood ; their descent and 
 
 pedigree 83 — 90 
 
 Horton Grange 201 
 
 Horton Villa 146 
 
 Horton House Academy 82, 83 
 
 Horton Lane Chapel and its founders ; 
 Trust Deed and conditions of 
 Membership ; successive Enlarge- 
 ments ; Ministers and Churches 
 
 sprung from 69 — 71 
 
 Horton Public Park : extent, des- 
 cription, and cost 149, 150 
 
 Horton Bank, New and Old Roads 
 
 described J 164 
 
 Horton Green and its Associations 136, 137 
 Horton Green — Old Residents of ... 141 
 
 Horton Old Band 224 
 
 Horton Old Choral Society 225 
 
 Hortons of Howroyde 6, 7, 
 
 House Building extraordinary 151 
 
 Howley Hall — Materials used for the 
 
 erection of Chapel T^ane Chapel ... 53 
 Hudson, Jacob, and his Wife ; their 
 industry and frugal habits ; ac- 
 
 (juisitions and singular will 75-/8 
 
 Hulnie, Nathaniel and [oseph, born 
 at Holme Top, two distinguished 
 sons of Mr. S. Hulme, of Kipping, 
 
 Thornton 146 
 
 Hunt Yard, Legend of, property pur- 
 chased by Fo.x 186, 187 
 
 Hunt Yard W'esleyan Cl)apel ; first 
 Trustees; Opening of 212 
 
 I 
 
 Illingworth, Robert, attorney 163 
 
 Tllingworth, Dr 185 
 
 Iron Church, Congregational 222 
 
 J 
 
 Jackson, John, the "old ('liartist" 203,204 
 
 Jennings, John 14, 17, 189 
 
 Jennings, |onas 18 
 
 Jennings, Jolin, the miller 199 
 
 Jer Lane Old .School, conducted 
 
 many years by John Benn 161 
 
 Super.seded by Board School 162 
 
 John of Gaunt (87 
 
 PAGE 
 
 John Northrop 187 
 
 Jowetts, formerly considerable owners 
 
 of land and tenements in Horton 162 
 
 "Jumpers "of Horton 222 
 
 Kaye, Benjamin, Cotton Manu- 
 facturer ; a large dealer ; removed 
 to Allerton Hall 140, 141 
 
 King's Arms Inn, sold to Mrs. Trout, 
 came to the Rudd family ; sold to 
 the Bradford Corporation 180 
 
 Knight, John, " one of the kings of 
 Horton " : with his brother erected 
 a cotton mill, but failed in 1826 ; 
 mill re-built by Harris & Co. , and 
 adapted to worsted 30 
 
 Knight's Bankruptcy 180 
 
 Knie-ht's Mill ' 182 
 
 L 
 
 Lacy, Henry de. Earl of Lincoln ... 2 
 Lacy, Robert de, grants the Manor 
 
 to Hugh de Stapleton 6 
 
 Lacy and Horton families, and their 
 
 tenantry 7—9 
 
 Lacies and their servitors in 1342 8, 9 
 
 Land and Property Owners in 1704, 
 
 1802, and 1839 12 — 14 
 
 Land Owners, four principal 4 
 
 Land tenure and service under the 
 
 Lacies 8, 9 
 
 Lapse of the cotton trade, and growth 
 
 of the worsted 31 
 
 Laycock, Lazarus 218 
 
 Legrams Lane, an old pack horse road 2, 3 
 
 Leventhorpe William 95 
 
 Lidget Green, early seat of Noncon- 
 formity 190 
 
 lister, Robert, a privileged dyer in 
 1382 ; succeeded by Richard, who 
 was constable of Halifax, and paid 
 the highest rent to the lords of the 
 manor ; the Ovendenand Northow- 
 ram Estates continuing in the familv 
 
 till 1756 84, 85 
 
 Lister, Thomas, lands and tenure ; 
 descendants ; Shibden Hall branch 
 of the family; marriage alliances, &c. 85 
 Lister, John, inherited the Horton 
 
 and Ovenden Estates 86 
 
 Lister, John, Will of (Appendix) 
 Lister, Samuel, J. P., of Horton, his 
 
 bequests 86, 87, 88 
 
 Lister, Samuel, of Manningham, an 
 
 attorney 88, 89 
 
 Lister, John, M.A 86 
 
 Listers, zealous Parliamentarians ; 
 their sufferings during the Civil 
 War 91, 92
 
 Index. 
 
 243 
 
 PACK 
 
 Lister, Joseph, account of the siege 
 
 of Bradford 9 1 , 92 
 
 Lister, Thomas, of Mauiiiiigiiaiii, a 
 
 major under General Fairfax 117 
 
 Lister, Abraham, of liolUng, an 
 
 attorney 113 
 
 Lister Pedigree 88 
 
 Lister's Arms, a favourite call house 
 
 in the coaching days 79 
 
 Lister Hills, origin of 205 
 
 leister Hills Chapel 209 
 
 Low ("lose Farm 189 
 
 Low Green 188 
 
 Low Green Working Men's Radical 
 
 Association 223 
 
 Lower Hall Brooks i8r 
 
 Lumby Family, of Scholemoor ...16, 197 
 Lumby, Sammy t6, 197 
 
 M 
 
 Mansion House, Southfield Lane i8i —185 
 
 Manor Court records 7, 8 
 
 Manor Court steward and judge ... 17 
 Manor, recent and pre.sent owners ; 
 descent from the Lacies to the 
 Horton Family ; sale in 1858 to 
 Wm. Cousen, and old mill to S. 
 Dracup ; mill long tenanted by 
 
 Joseph Beanland 7, 173, 174 
 
 Manor House 188 
 
 Manor of Leventhorpe 96 
 
 Mann Brothers, stuff merchants ; 
 Thomas also carried on the cork- 
 leg business 66, 67 
 
 Marshall's Mill, built in i8r8, burnt 
 
 down in 1822 33 
 
 Maynard's valuation of the tythes in 
 
 1638 II 
 
 Maude, Dr. William 202 
 
 Meeting-houses registered after the 
 
 passing of the Toleration Act 51 
 
 Midgley Family 196 — 197 
 
 Mills erected between 1817 and 1850 ; 
 
 their owners and tenants 32—37 
 
 Milk stick and its use 26 
 
 Ministers at Chapel Lane Chapel 
 
 from its erection 50—55 
 
 Mires— Myers 162, 168, 170 
 
 Myers, Thomas, assistant-overseer... 
 
 [18, 20, 35, 162 
 
 Miry Pond, site> 161 
 
 Mitchell Bros. , large worsted spinners 33 
 
 Mitchell, r'rancis and John, 33 
 
 Moravian Chapel, Paternoster Fold ; 
 
 do., Little Horton Lane 218 
 
 Mortimers of Scholemoor 195, 196 
 
 Mossman Family 43, 44 
 
 Mount Carmel Chapel 150 
 
 Mount Pleasant School, trustees 
 
 01 192, 193 
 
 Moulsons ; family long engaged in the 
 stone and building trade 139, 140 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Names derived from trades 84 
 
 Nathaniel Dracup, first Methodist in 
 
 Horton 211 
 
 National School, Lidget Green 193 
 
 Nettleton Fold : old residents 161 
 
 O 
 
 Gates, William Henry 207 
 
 Octagon Chapel, first Wesleyan place 
 of worship in Bradford ; land 
 purchase and original trustees ; 
 purchased in 1810 by Richard 
 Fawcett 63, 64. 65 
 
 Old Bell Chapel, erection of; first 
 incumbents 214 — 216 
 
 Old Homestead at Bank Bottom, 
 built about 1600 165 
 
 "Old House at Home"; ascribed 
 to Isaac Sharp ; passed into the 
 Lister family ; different occupiers 144 
 
 Old Road hostelries 164, 165 
 
 Old Skinhouse, a seventeenth century 
 homestead, owned by Jacob 
 Hudson, purchased by Thomas 
 Dewhirst 78 
 
 OldTodley, site of; Wesleyan School 
 at Old Todley 182— 211 
 
 Old inhabitants of Horton ,..227, 228, 229 
 
 P 
 
 Parker 20, 32, 75, 162 
 
 Parkinson, Stephen, built houses at 
 
 Summerseat Place 180 
 
 Parkinson, John, bookseller, builder 
 of Mount Carmel Chapel ; after- 
 wards became a Primitive Methodist 
 
 local preacher 150 
 
 Pickles Hill : derivation of name ... 166 
 
 Pilling, Joseph, the miller 199 
 
 Plug Riots, said to have been due to 
 Chartism ; great excitement in 
 
 Horton 28, 29 
 
 Poor Relief in the early part of 
 
 present century 17 
 
 Poll Tax of 1379 9< 10 
 
 Population of Horton 229 
 
 Powell, Rev. Benjamin, father of Mr. 
 
 F. S. Powell 117 
 
 Powell, Francis Sharp, educated at 
 Wigan and Sedburgh Grammar 
 Schools, and graduated at Cam- 
 bridge ; called to the Bar ; sat four 
 times in Parliament ; presented 
 with portrait of himself in 1884; 
 erected All Saints' Church, Par- 
 sonage, and Schools; his Yorkshire 
 residence, Horton Old Hall ; 
 description of the hall ; relics, 
 family portraits, articles of vertii,
 
 •244 
 
 Index 
 
 PAGE 
 
 armour, carved oak, and other 
 antiques ; elected member of 
 Parliament for Wigan (see 
 Appendix) ; pedigree of...ii8, 119 — 121 
 
 Preston Place School, how named ; 
 Preston Place 208 
 
 Presbyterian Chapel, erected at Little 
 Horton soon after the Revolution 
 of 1688 50, 51 
 
 Presbyterians of Chapel Lane became 
 Unitarians during the Rev. John 
 Dean's ministry 53 
 
 Presbyterian Ministers 5i~53 
 
 Primitive Methodism in Horton ; 
 erection of chapel 219, 220 
 
 Primitive Manufacturing, wool carded 
 and spun at home ; modes of life 
 and furnishing and fare ; cotton 
 industry and long hours of labour 24, 25 
 
 Price, Morton (diaries Horton 
 Rhyss), sold manorial property in 
 1858 7 
 
 Q 
 
 Quaker Lane, so called from its lead- 
 ing to the early burying place of 
 the Friends ; list of interments ... 
 
 R 
 
 Radical Reform Chib 204 
 
 Ramsbothams, origin and descen- 
 dants of, their connection with the 
 
 Rands and Swaines 43, 44 
 
 Ramsbotham, H. R., founded the 
 firm of H. R. Ramsbotham and 
 
 Co 44, 203 
 
 Ramsbotham, John, surgeon, adopted 
 
 Hahnemann's views, his family ... 44 
 Ramsbotham, Henry, Swaine, and 
 N. Murgatroyd, in 1798 erected 
 the first worsted mill in the Holme 38 
 Ramsdens honourably connected 
 with the Bradford Trade ; sprung 
 
 from Upper Green 172, 173 
 
 Rand Family, early pioneers of 
 
 worsted trade 40, 41 
 
 Randall Well Close bequest 66 
 
 Redhead, Rev. Samuel 215 
 
 Red Lion Inn, owners and occupiers 142 
 
 Reevy Beacon Hill 161 
 
 Rent, ancient forms of, and service ; 
 " Red Rose," " Boynes," and 
 
 " Hens" ; "Gafol," a tribute 114 
 
 Richardson, 'William 148 
 
 Riley, Joseph and Ldnmnd, school- 
 masters ; the latter an author of 
 
 poems and tales 141 
 
 Robin Hood and Little John (old 
 
 hostelry in Hunt yard) 186 
 
 Rushworth, heir of 187 
 
 S 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Sams Mill, ancient corn mill 199 
 
 Sawrey, Faith, the last lineal descend- 
 ant of the elder branch of the 
 Sharps 107 
 
 Scarr Lane 186 
 
 Scholemoor, origin of name 193 
 
 Scholemoor listate, ancient owners 
 of; bought by Bradford Corporation 197 
 
 Scholemoor Cemetery 198 
 
 Seebohm, Benjamin 202 
 
 Sharps of Horton, their long con- 
 nection with the township ; posses- 
 sions, how acquired 94, 95 
 
 Sharp, James, liis identity ; exact 
 relationship not certain ; descent 
 claimed from a Christopher Sharp 96 
 
 Sharp Family, branches of the same ; 
 divided into two ; residence of the 
 elder, Horton Hall ; the younger, 
 Horton Old Hall ; espoused oppo- 
 site sides in religion and politics 96, 97 
 
 Sharp, Thomas, his inheritance ; his 
 two sons ; the younger of the 
 main branches of the family 98 
 
 Sharp, John, the noted Parlia- 
 mentarian under Fairfax, and 
 present at Marston Moor ; two of 
 his sons, the Rev. Thomas Sharp, 
 vicar of Adel, and Abraham, the 
 mathematician 98, 99 
 
 .Sharp, Rev. Thomas, Vicar of Adel, 
 dejirived by the Act of Uniformity, 
 afterwards an ardent Noncon- 
 formist minister at Morley and 
 Leeds 98 — loi 
 
 Sharp, Dr. John, studied at Leyden ; 
 his outfit and journey to Holland. . . 102 
 
 Sharp, .Abraham, educated at Brad- 
 ford Grammar School ; his devotion 
 to scientific pursuits ; friendship 
 with Flamsted, and employment at 
 Greenwich Observatory ; curious 
 medley of entries in memorandum 
 book; his studious life at Horton 105 — 7 
 
 Sliarp, Thomas, yeoman and clothier 
 in 1607 ; added greatly to his 
 paternal estate iii 
 
 Sliarp, John, an ardent Royalist, 
 received a blow from a battle axe 
 during Civil 'V/ars ; his sons 
 partisans on the king's side ...115 — T17 
 
 Sharp, John, D. D. , Archbishop of 
 York; born in Ivegate ; educated at 
 Bradford Grammar School and 
 graduated at Cambridge ; obtained 
 the Archdeaconry of Berkshire, 
 and three other preferments the 
 same year ; Dean of Canterbury, 
 and created Archbishop of York in 
 his forty-seventh year ; his diary 
 and life ; a prolific writer, and 
 collector of coins 122, 123, 124, 125, 
 
 126, 127
 
 Index. 
 
 245 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Sharp, Thomas, younger son of the 
 Archbisliop, Archdeacon of Xorth- 
 lunberland ; Sharp, John, Pre- 
 bendary of Durham, Archdeacon of 
 Northumberland, Vicar of Hart- 
 burn, and curate of Bamburgh 127 
 
 Sharp, Granville, the most distin- 
 guished son of the Archdeacon : his 
 life and philanthropic labours ; the 
 earliest abolitionist of slavery ; his 
 trials for setting slaves free ; secured 
 Sierra Leone as a settlement for the 
 liberated slaves ; earnest labourer 
 in behalf of religious and literary 
 institutions, and a voluminous 
 writer 129, 130 
 
 Sharp, James, of Horton ; his de- 
 scendants 131 
 
 Sharp, John, of Tong, father of Wm., 
 of Bradford family, and dis- 
 tinguished relatives — the Heys ... 131 
 
 Sharp, \Vm. , an eminent surgeon at 
 St. Bartholomew's Hospital 129 
 
 Sharp, Wm. , M..A., Mareham Rec- 
 tory, Boston 132 
 
 .Sharp, \\'m. , an eminent Bradford 
 surgeon, house surgeon of St. 
 Bartholomew's Hospital, settled in 
 Bradford, in 1792 ; monument 
 formerly in the Parish Church, now 
 in the corridor of the Infirmary ... 132 
 
 Sharp John, M..\. , \^icar of Horbury 132 
 
 Sharjj, Richard, of Gildersome, the 
 father of three distinguished 
 sons 132,133 
 
 Sharp, Wm., M.D., F.R.S., F.G.S., 
 succeeded his uncle in 1833 ; his 
 lectures on Natural Philosophy ; 
 one of the founders and president of 
 the Bradford Philosophical -Society; 
 surgeon to the Infirmary ; removed 
 to Rugby ; his careful investiga- 
 tion of Hahnemann's theory ; 
 marriages and family 133, 134 
 
 Sharp, Madam 107, 108 
 
 Sharps' marriage alliance with Staple- 
 ton, Bridges, and Powell 117 
 
 Sherebrig Beck Close 181 
 
 Shibden Hall ; a fine example of 
 timber-built residences 86 
 
 Smith. Sanuiel, of Bradford, Mayor, 
 notice of 207, 208 
 
 .Smith, Lawrence 203 
 
 " Smith, Uick," at one time the 
 largest worsted spinner in Brad- 
 ford 142, 143 
 
 Smithy Hill, or Old.Todley 182 
 
 Soke Corn Mill, in Horton, in 1311 ; 
 tenants and rent 173 
 
 Southfield Lane ; Saughfield or 
 Southgate ; name illustrates the 
 custom of the open-field tenure ; 
 the system explained .' 156, 157 
 
 Southern Half-acres 112 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Springfield 198 
 
 Stamj), Rev. W. W 213 
 
 Stewards of the Bridges Estates 138 
 
 Stony lands 180 
 
 St. Andrew's Church 209 
 
 .St. lohn's Church, Manchester Road. 
 The new Church of St. John the 
 Evangelist, in Horton Lane, built 
 
 in its stead 72 
 
 .St. James's Church, erected by John 
 Wood, junr. ; first incumbent the 
 Rev. G. S. Bull, an earnest ad- 
 vocate of the Ten Hours Bill; his 
 
 successors ' 73 
 
 St. John the Evangelist, Great 
 
 Horton, erection of 217 
 
 Sterne Richard, Archbishop ol York 92 
 Sterne, Laurence, author of "Tristram 
 Shandy, "educated at Hipperholme 
 
 Grammar School 92 
 
 Sterne, Simon ; numerous family ; 
 
 their descendants 92 , 93 
 
 Stephensons of Horton Green 138 
 
 Steadman, W. , D,D. , personal ap- 
 pearance and labours 80, 81 
 
 Streams and their Courses 1,2 
 
 Storrs, Rev. W. T 217 
 
 Swaines, a very ancient family ; 
 numerous branches ; marriage 
 
 alliances ; pedigree 44, 45 — 8 
 
 Swaine, Joseph 180 
 
 Swaine, Samuel 201 
 
 Swaine, Dr. \\'. E. , physician extra- 
 ordinary to the Duchess of Kent... 47 
 
 Swaines of Gomersal 46, 47 
 
 Swaine, James, said to have ploughed 
 
 when ninety-five years of age 165 
 
 .Swaines, noted for longevity 47.48 
 
 Swaine & Ramsbotham's Mill in the 
 Holme, the first of the kind in 
 Bradford ; great fire, and exer- 
 tions of the Bradford \'olunteers... 42 
 
 Suddards, Eli 86, 189 
 
 Summerseat Place 180 
 
 T 
 
 Tan House 203 
 
 Taylor. Rev. Thos. , Minister of 
 
 Horton Lane Cha])el 70, 71 
 
 Tempest Field i8i 
 
 Tenants of Horton Old Hall ... 118, 119 
 Tetley Charles (" Pump Tctley"J... 35, 36 
 Thomas, Abraham ("Dr. Tom"), 
 
 notice of 185 
 
 Thorntons of Scholemoor 194 
 
 Thorntons of Little Horton 155 
 
 Thornton Lane, the Thome, part 
 
 of Lady Hew ley's Charity 155 
 
 Thief Score Lane 200 
 
 Toby Lane 186 
 
 Tod (or Toad) Well Farm : an old 
 
 homestead 151
 
 246 
 
 Index. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Topham 162, 224, 225, 227, 228 
 
 'riirner, John and Robert 202 
 
 Turner, George 202 
 
 Tythes in 1638, and list of contribu- 
 tors II 
 
 W 
 
 Wade, John, a good type of the 
 Horton character ; Churchwarden, 
 Poor Law Guardian, and Town 
 
 Councillor 20, 21, 169, 170, 226 
 
 \\'alker, James, physician, inheritor 
 
 of Bank Bottom Farm ; tenants 165, i66 
 " Waste Lands," " Enclosures," and 
 
 " Common fields," 113 
 
 Watmoagh 224, 225, 226 
 
 Webb, Rev. G. M 217 
 
 Weddall, Mr., Account of 123, 124 
 
 Well Close House, built on the site 
 
 of the Old Workhouse 17 
 
 Wesleyanism in Horton 212 
 
 Wesleyan School, first erected ; 
 
 trustees of 182 
 
 Wesleyan Sunday School 213 
 
 PAGK 
 
 Wesley Place Chapel, erection of ; 
 
 becomes Congregational 221 
 
 West End Building Society 206 
 
 West Lodge 210 
 
 Westbrook House 62 
 
 Westbrook Place 209 
 
 Whitaker, Wm. , principal partner in 
 
 the Old Brewery 39 
 
 Wickham, Rev. Lamplugh 60 
 
 Wood Family ; possessions derived 
 from the Lacies of Cromwell- 
 botham ; transfers of land to the 
 
 Sharps 112, 113 
 
 Wood, John, senr., Southbrook 
 Lodge, manufacturer of horn, ivory, 
 
 and tortoise-shell combs, &c C2 
 
 Wood, John ("Spectacle Wood"), 
 
 first postmaster of Horton 184 
 
 Workhouse, Old, pulled down about 
 1822 17 
 
 Yates, Jude 223
 
 WM. BVLES AND SONS, PRINTERS, PICCADILLY, BRADFORD.
 
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