Higham Royd
Ackworth Old Hall
Old House on Church Street
Cudworth Pond
Coblers Well
The Old Police House
Bothamhall, Yorkshire and Brierley Manor Rentals
Church Street Brierley
Hanson's Blacksmiths
The Crowther family of Higham and links with Burntwood Hall
Hoyland Family in Brierley
Hall Farm Brierley
A possible tunnel
Ringstone Hill
Howell
House stands in a hollow just east of
The
House was a Grange or out lying farm belonging to Nostell Priory. The
Priory
was dissolved 20th. November 1540. Howell House went with the rest of
the
Nostell estate to Dr. Thomas Leigh and soon afterwards to Sir Thomas
Gargrave.
In
1568 Howell House passed to Thomas Normanvile. It was described as ‘A
capitol
messuage called Holewell or Hovel Hall in the parish of Thurnscoe with
a wood
of 160 acres’.
The
historian Joseph Hunter writing in 1828/31 describes Howell House as
‘The
Grange of Holy Well or Howell with lands in Thurnscoe, Darfield, and
Houghton, together
with Howell Wood of 160 acres.’
In
1881 the house was occupied by Mary Ann Hirst
a
widow aged 46 who was born in Clayton and farmed 101 acres
employing 3
men. Her daughters Louisa Ann aged 11 & Geregiana aged 7 and son
George
Herbert aged 5 were born in Upper Midhope
Penistone. James Aspinall aged 26 nephew of Mary and born in Brighouse
was the Manager
of The Farm (Farm Bailiff)
Joseph
Bedford 43 born in Thurnscoe and Charles Marshall 20 born in Arksey
were farm
workers.
The
family were still there in 1891, and Kelly’s West Riding Directory for
1893
lists Mrs. Ann Hirst as a farmer at Howell House Thurnscoe.
An
archaeological aerial survey taken in the 1970s found traces of ancient
fields
just to the
The
building has seen may changes it has masonry and internal timbers that
may date
from time when it was still a Grange of Nostell. The window frames have
been
changed and a pan tile roof added probably in the last 200 years.
Howell Farm House
Ringstone Hill
Hello Richard,
Do
you have
any knowledge of Ringstone Hill. South Kirkby Hill Fort is nearby. Is
Ringstone
Hill an ancient henge type site. I see that there are some stones
there. Are
these part of a SESKU. (South Elmsall South Kirby,
Thanks,
Alan
Thank
you
for your email Alan.
Ringstone
Hill should not be confused with the SESKU folly near the household
waste site
on
You
will
find a write up of the known history of the Iron age fort in South
Kirby and
Ringstone Hill on my web site in
the first chapter of my on line
booklet Brererley a history of Brierley.
Regards
Richard
Hello
Richard,
Thank
you
for the reply. It has cleared up that question. I've looked at your
interesting
well researched site. I went to your links page and found Barnsley
Family
History Society, which I hope may assist in my family research.
Alan formerly of
A possible tunnel
Hi Richard
My name is Gary Keele, I was born in Brierley (Hillside
Cres.) 1969 left
in 1994, When I was younger I was told of a possible tunnel from
Cordeux corner
to Brierley Common. Is the this true? In the wall as you walk up from
Thank you
for your email
The blocked
entrance in the old stone wall was
the Cobblers Well it was closed for safety about 50 years ago.
Regards
Richard
Hall Farm Brierley
This
was written in answer to an email regarding Percy Townend of Hall Farm
Brierley.
Percy was Born in Hemsworth in 1890 and moved to Hall Farm Brierley
c1927. He
retired to live at Hemsworth Grove Farm in 1957. Hall Farm then became
the home of the Baxendale family.
James
Townend the grandfather of Percy was born in
In
Kelly’s 1893 West Riding of York Directory
James
H. M. Townend & Richard Townend are listed as butchers in
Hemsworth.
Richard was also assistant registrar to Hemsworth Rural District
Council. He
had spent some time a teacher in a private school in the
I have been
fortunate to see some documents relating to the Hoyland, of Brierley
dated 1925 when the family had left the area. This prompted me to
publish this short history.
In 1662 John Hoyland paid £5 rent to Brierley manor for a farm in the village, in 1701and 1720 a John Hoyland paid rents to the manor.
1806
Militia list has no Hoyland’s eligible for service recorded in Brierley
1841
census has John Hoyland aged 45 of independent means , Mary his wife
45, John 9
at the Farm house (on church Street) later
to become BrierleyHall. This had been the name of Lindley house up to
about
1850.
Robert
Holand aged 44 a solicitor, Elizabeth 39 his wife were at Lindley House Brierley.
They
were also in the 1838 Directory and the 1840 tithe survey
1851
Census has John Hoyland Gentleman 57 born in Felkirk paarish which
includes
Brierley, Mary his wife 57 born in Sheffield, John Hoyland 19 born in
Felkirk
now a student at Oxford (at the Hall)
Robert
Hoyland 54 attorney & solicitor born
in Felkirk
Elizabeth
his wife 49 born in
1860
Rev. John Hoyland of Brierley inducted as Vicar of Felkirk
1861
Census John Hoyland Gentleman 67 born in Felkirk, Mary his wife 69 born
in
Robert
Hoyland 64 attorney & solicitor born
in Brierley widower,
Sarah
his daughter 31 born in Brierley now the wife of Rev.
G.P. Cordeux, Mary F E Cordeux daughter
2 born in Cheltenham Gloucestershire
visiting (at Lindley House)
Rev.
John Hoyland Vicar of Felkirk 29 born in Brierley, Mary Ann Hirst 29
born in
1869
John, Robert, Rev. John Hoyland, and Rev. G.P. Cordeux are on the
1871
Census has John Hoyland Landowner 77 born in Felkirk widower. Ann
Stacey inlaw
70 spinster born in
Robert
Hoyland 74 attorney & solicitor born
in Brierley widower
Sarah
his daughter 41 born in Brierley now the wife of
Rev.
G.P. Cordeux, 42 born in
Edith
M Cordeux daughter 8 born in Brierley
(Edith lived in the village for many years some older residents still
remember her. She founded the Church Insitute on Church Street which is
now a working mans club.)
Robert
H Cordeux son 6 born in Brierley
Edward
H Cordeux son 5 born in Brierley (at Lindley House)
Rev.
John Hoyland 39 Vicar of Felkirk and landowner
Mary
Ann Hoyland wife 38 born in
1874
Rev. John Hoyland retired as vicar of Felkirk
1881
Census Brierley Hall (
John
Hoyland aged 49
Born in Felkirk, Clergyman (Without
Care Of Souls) (M.A.Oxford)
Mary
Ann his wife 48
Felkirk, and his two children at home both scholars Fanny I. 10 Felkirk. John
Henry 9
Felkirk, the other children Alice and
Clare Hoyland are
listed at a
At
Lindley House Brierley
Godfrey
P. Cordeux 52 Born in
Clergyman
(Without Care Of Souls)
Sarah
his wife 51 Felkirk, and
child, Edith 18 Felkirk,
Anne Stacey an aunt aged 81 born in
1891
Census has Alice, Clare, and Fanny
Hoyland (alone at Brierley Hall)
Godfey
P. Cordeux with his wife Sarah at Lindley House
1893
Directory has Rev. John Hoyland at the
Hall.
1901
Census has Rev. John Hoyland with his wife Mary born in Barnsley,
Godfrey
P. Cordeux retired and alone (at Lindley House)
1903
Clement E. Hoyland bought land at Brierley Gap to build a home. This is
now the
Robin Hood night club.
(A
Gap is a crossing point on a watershed, In this case it is between the
rivers Don
and Calder valleys.)
Rev.
John Hoyland is in the 1908 directory at Brierley Hall
1910
Rev. John Hoyland died
1911
Clement E. Hoyland sold his house at Brierley Gap
to
Hemsworth RDC, and land in Brierley to the Cordeux family and left the
area.
1912
Alfonso Wood is listed a living at Brierley
Hall.
1925
Clement E. Hoyland is listed as the owner occupier of Brinkworth Hall,
Elvington York, probably at the time of his sale of the property.
Higham Royd
Dear
Richard,
I have recently
researched my family history as far back as a George Holland who, in
the 1881
census, lists his birthplace as Higham Royd circa 1838. I would be
greatly
interested to learn if any reference to this surname exists in
local
records and would certainly appreciate any pointers which may aid my
further
research.
Yours sincerely
Paul Holland
Hello Paul
If you
go to this web site http://www.old-maps.co.uk/ and
search for Higham, then select the one in
Regards
Richard
Thank you
Paul
Holland
Ackworth Old Hall
Hello
Richard,
My name is Bonnie Watson-Padgett.
My husband and I with friends went to
Thanks, Bonnie Padgett Clarksville
Ackworth Old Hall
Hello
Bonnie
Than you for your email. Yes I know Ackworth Old Hall it is about 7
miles from
my home.It is an Elizabethan Hall built about
1580. In
1715 it was occupied by Rev. M. Lee and in 1893 by a farmer called John
Waites.
I Could not comment on its being haunted that is out of my field.
To find this hall on a map go to this web site http://www.old-maps.co.uk/
search for High Ackworth, and the 1854 6" Ordnance Survey map will
centre
on the village. Use the controls to move just
Regards
Richard
Hello
Richard, Hi
Richard I
have taken a few photographs of the old house on Regards Hello
Yes
it was a good house shame it had to go. A Miss. Watson
lived there for some time. It was built about 1930. The 1919 Ordnance
Survey
map does not show it, but the 1938 one has the house marked. Hope this
is
useful. Regards Richard Hi
Richard Thank
you Hello
Richard Reflecting
on my early days in Cudworth a question popped into my head the other
day: why
was that space in the centre of the village referred to as the "pond"
is it a corruption of pound (of the livestock-containing sort) or
was there a
pond there? Something else that I need to look into, for purposes of
thoroughness, is the origins of the village. Whereas many of the
villages round
about seem to have arisen due to the discovery of coal, Cudworth, I
suspect,
had a longer (if undistinguished) history? But even that is a
questionable statement.
Did Grimethorpe exist before the pit-head? Come to think of it, it
probably
did. The coal owners would develop their pits around a source of labour
an
existing village - and if the coal is down there anyway, it did not
matter
where the shaft was dug, did it? Then, as the need for labour grew, the
so the
village expanded. Am I correct? Mike Hello
Mike Cudworth
takes its name from an Anglo-Saxon settler 'Cuda 's enclosure' it was
in
Anglian Northumbria (Yorkshire & Northumberland) close to Saxon
Mercia
(midland counties), worth is a Saxon place ending. The river Don was
the
accepted boundary. Grimethorpe was a Viking/Norse setlement or Grimr's
Thorpe
on the edge of Anglo-Saxon Brierley, it never grew to more than a
few
farms as the area became part of Brierley Manor Kind
Regards Gareth
& Deborah Hello
Gareth & Deborah Thank
you
for your email. The
Tithe
Award Survey 1840 shows Jennet Croft as one acre of arable land owned
by John
Hoyland of Brierley Hall Church St. Brierley, and farmed by John
Wilkinson of
Grimethorpe. His farm house was close to what is now
Thank you so much for the information and picture. It has been a
lot of
help. If you know the Watson's that own Ackworth Hall now,
please, tell
them hello from the Tennessee Watson's( maiden name) they met in
Bonnie Padgett
regards
Richard
Mike
Coblers Well
Hi
Richard,
we have not lived in Brierley long. We are really eager to find photo’s
of the
well we have bricked up in our front wall on Church Street opposite the
Farriers Arms, and any information about it. The
plot of land our house was built on was known as Jennet Croft. There
are two
dwellings and a joiners shop marked on an early plan of the site.
The
wells which had
served the villages for centuries were inadequate for
the increasing population following the opening of Grimethopre
Colliery. Hemsworth R.D.C.
built a reservoir at Ringstone Hill to supply
Brierley
and Grimethorpe with piped water for the first time in their history.
What a
change this would have been for the older residents.
Regards Richard
The
1840 tithe award for Brierley was a complete survey of the village with
every
plot of land accounted for. Plot 169 was Pit Hill field, this was
three quarters of an acre of land owned
by
William Attee’s heir and farmed by Benjamin Bedford in 1840. The
pair of
Houses in the photo above were built on this plot in 1851.
One of
these was the home in
1852 of William
Watson who was born in Brierley in 1801, he had lived in Monk Bretton
and
Cawthorne where his eldest child was born in 1838. He was the part
owner of
Proctor & Watson’s White House coal mine at Barnsley Road Shafton.
This is now a
kennels that stands back from the road. The other house
was the home of Thomas Rogerson a stone mason and the builder of the
houses. Charles
Rogerson the son of Thomas also a Stone Mason who
had
lived in
Liverpool for a while, occupied this house with his wife Sarah,
and
children Anne & Charles, from about 1881
to 1891
Edward Watson is
the next known occupier he was
a Haulage Contractor based there in
1927. The Watson family lived there for some time and used the land as
a coal
and wood yard. These houses are now 24 & The pair of
houses are not on the 1849 Ordnance
Survey 6” map but were built quite soon after the survey. They are
shown on
the 1893
edition. They are well built in stone and are quite up market in a
Victorian
style.
Providence
Terrace now gone was at what were Nos. 33-35-39 Barnsley Road. No. 35
was the
Police
Sergeants’ house, Joseph Little
from Stourbridge was the sergeant here in 1861. Much
later Dear
Richard Have
you
ever heard of Bothamhall, Jane Rangeley Dear
Jane I
have
located Botham Hall it is a in a district of Huddersfield called Golcar
about 4
miles west of the town centre. A. H. Smiths 'West Riding Place Names'
lists
Bothomhall in I
have just been looking at a Would
you
mind if I placed an edited copy of these emails on the Ask Richard web
page,
and on the Ask Richard about Brierley Hope
this
is useful to you Regards Richard Dear
Richard Thank
you
for this and your previous email. You are most kind. Please
feel
free to put something on your website about our exchange. Could you
kindly
email me when it is up and send me the link? I have now
sent off to the records office for a copy of the document in which
Rangley and
Sykes are mentioned. With
grateful thanks Jane
Rangeley I have had
the privilege to examine a set of
deeds relating to Church Street Brierley opposite the Church and Old
School. which have helped me to have a clearer
picture of the lay out of that part of the village. In 1806
William Watson then aged 19 was an
apprentice blacksmith in Brierley. There were two blacksmiths in the
village at
that time, Thomas Bedford and William Schooley. In 1838 when William
Watson was
listed as Victualler and Blacksmith in Brierley. In
1852 the Watson family held the Farriers
Arms Inn and again in 1877 a William Watson was listed as a blacksmith,
and
another as an Inn Keeper at The Farriers Arms. Farrier is another name
for a
blacksmith especially one working with horses. By 1881 the
Watson family had a shop and
blacksmiths on The deeds
show quite well the relationship of
Watson’s blacksmith’s shop to the village Pinfold and Towns Houses for
the
Poor. In 1964 the ownership of the Towns Houses needed to be verified
by the
declaration of two Brierley residents of long standing.
The lay out of this part of No.
66 which is a general dealers, and 64 were part of plot 25 on the tithe
award
map of 1840 they were then owned by William Watson Blacksmith. This
plot ran
back off No
62 is on the site of the Pinfold. This was anciently in the care of the
Pindar
who impounded stray animals in the village and made a charge to the
owners for
their return. On a Brierley Manor court roll dated 1655 Richard Mann
was listed
as Pindar for the village. 60
& 58 are on plot 24 of the tithe award map of 1840. This was the
site of
the Towns Houses, these were two cottages in the care of the Overseers
to the
Poor. It was owned by the George Savile Foljambe. They were demolished
in 1948. The Pinfold
and Towns Houses are marked on
several 19th. century maps of the village. A well
remembered blacksmiths in Brierley was
that of the Hanson family. William Hanson and his father George from
Hemsworth
took over the blackmiths shop of Joseph Askin which stood on
Regards Paul Hanson Here
is an extract from some notes of mine on the family. "A
well remembered
blacksmiths in Brierley was that of the Hanson family. William Hanson
and his
father George from Hemsworth took over the blackmiths shop of Joseph
Askin
which stood on Regards Richard Hi Richard, Regards Paul Hanson Hello Paul Yes I
believe that George born 1858 was the a
blacksmith in Brierley in 1908. Charles Hanson was the last Blacksmith
he was
working in Brierley in 1922 and possibly in 1927. The smithy had closed
by
1936. The family first appear in Brierley in White’s West Riding
Directory for
1852. Just checked Kirk Smeaton but have not found a
Hanson or Kenyon listed.The
Kenyon family were well known in Brierley here is some of their early
history. They
are first mentioned on the Staincross Mitilia List for 1806. The
Militia listed
records of all men able to serve in the West Riding of Yorkshire
Militia at the
time of an expected invasion by William
White’s Directory of the West Riding
1838 has this entry for Brierley; Mathew Kenyon and Sons,
Gardeners. The
1840 Brierley Tithe award lists Mathew Kenyon as a tenant of the Lord
of the
Manor, George Savile Foljambe, his cottage was on White’s
West Riding Directory for 1852 lists George
& William Kenyon as (Market) Gardeners. In 1861 John
Kenyon who was born in Brierley is
listed as Farmer & Gardener living at Red House 1n 1881. Regards Richard Hi Richard, Dear Richard I
have a
piece of writing by one of my ancestors Polly Crowther, it is a scrap of paper on which Polly has written
several nursery rhymes, and the addresses of friends and relations. At
one
point on the paper she writes "Composition by Miss P. Crowther, Higham,
Barnsley" (the Crowthers lived at Higham Farm), She has also written
her
address as Miss Crowther, T (or J) Dymond Esq., Burntwood Hall,
Brierley, Kind
regards, Christine
Holgate It
is probably T. (Thomas) Dymond on the letter you have, he owned
Burnwood from about 1868
and died in 1900. Is this your
family
please? 1881
census Higham William Crowther
widower aged 83. Handicap:
Blind Farmer Of 120 Acres Joe
38 Crowther born in Barugh Famers
Son Mary 36 Crowther born in Jane 11 born in Higham granddaughter
Scholar Mary 8 born in Higham
granddaughter Scholar Timothy
6 born in Higham grandson
Scholar William
3 born in Higham grandson Emily 1 born in
Higham granddaughter John
Smith 19 born in Higham Farm Servant (Indoor) George
Hirst 55 born in Higham Farm Servant
(Indoor) There
is also an entry in the Kelly’s West Riding Directory for 1893; Joe
Crowther
farmer at Higham. As
Polly can be a nickname for Mary I take Mary aged 8 to be your Polly
Crowther.
If so she was of the right age to have visited Burntwood as a friend of
Catherine Dymond at the time Beatrice Tomasson was governess at the
hall
c1890-1901. Please see my web page Beatrice Tomasson & Dymond
Family on my
Brierley Yorkshire Regards Richard Many
thanks
for all your kind help. I have only just looked at my emails - Jane
Crowther
was my Great Grandmother, and I already had the census details for
1881, but
did not realise that Polly was a nickname for Mary - this has solved
the
mystery of who Polly was in the piece of writing that I have from my
grandmother. I also did not know that William had the handicap
"blind" on the census - my grandmother used to say that Willie was
blinded by the tail of a horse lashing at him - the family bred horses.
I will
pursue this further in Barnsley Archives. Thank you very much. Kind
regards, Christine Pleased
to
be able to help Christine. I have learned more about life at
Burntwood
Hall from our exchange of information. May I put an edited form of
these emails
on the Ask Richard web page please? Regards Richard Yes,
you
may. The story that my grandmother told about the family was that her
mother,
Jane had come from quite a wealthy family, but had married beneath
herself and
had been disowned by the family (she married John William Gill, a farm
servant
at Biggin Low Green, Harewood) . I started to doubt her story rather,
when I
found that Jane had lived at Higham Farm, rather than "Higham Old
Hall" as my Grandmother had called it. I also found that before she was
married, Jane had worked as a house maid at Leathley Hall. This is why
I
thought that "Polly", or someone else from Jane's family was employed
as a servant at Burntwood. Your theory gives credence to idea that the
Crowthers
indeed thought that they were a cut above other people. I was intrigued
by the
fact that "Polly" seemed quite well educated (she has good
handwriting), and was also puzzled by the fact that there were no
Pollys living
at Higham as far as I could see. The Crowthers have an entry in an 1838
Trades
Directory for their farm at Higham as well. Poor
Jane
Crowther ended up living in very sad circumstances. Her husband died
when he
was 33 of diphtheria, and two of her children died at the same time.
She was
pregnant at the time with my great uncle Fred (who died when he was
only 26),
and had a four year old daughter (my grandmother Kate) to look after.
She had
to move from their house to more basic accommodation in Nidd Vale
Terrace,
and take in washing to survive. She always told my grandmother not to
have
anything to do with the other children on the street, because she came
from a
better class of family. Jane died just before my father and his twin
brother
went to school in 1930. She would have been 60 when she died. Incidentally,
my mother has just told me a story about William Crowther. For quite a
while my
father had a chair that had belonged to William, which had scorch
marks on
one side. This was where William had placed it too close to the
fire because
he could not see where he was putting it. Thanks
again, Best
wishes, Christine My interest has
always been in how history has
shaped the landscape so I like to visit places I have researched. At
the
weekend I had a chance to visit Higham. It is quite near my home at
Brierley. Thomas Jefferys
1775 map of The
M1
motorway runs very close to this farm. Pog Well lane goes from the farm
to
‘Higham Bottom’ about 600 yards away. In 1854 this was ‘New Sikstone
Coal
Mine’. Not surprisingly there were many coal miners living in Higham at
that
time. The 120 acre farm of Willaim Crowther was quite large. Brierley
Manor
farm had 180 acres and the farm that my Watson family rented at
Cudworth had 80
acres. As horse breeders and dealers the family would have many
contacts
in Finding Pog Well
and Centre
on
Higham then go to 'enlarged view'. The farm is on Royd Lane, a foot
path is
marked crossing the map from a ford on the left, this turns north just
short of
Pog Well and leads directly to the farm house which is on the north
side of
Royd Lane. The
c1800
stone farm house has its gable end next to the lane and faces west, It
appears
to have a garden on the east side. The older building which could be an
earlier
house comes next in the same line of building. All of this site is
part of
the farm complex. Hope
this
is clear Richard Yes,
I've
found it. Higham is bigger than I thought it would be, and I'm not sure
I would
have been able to locate the farm without your help. The colliery and
Pog Well
were very clearly marked. Were you able to see evidence of either when
you
visited Higham? Best
wishes, Christine Pleased
to
be able to help Christine. The
Silkstone area is well within my range for days out so I know it quite
well.
The shallower coal mines near Higham such as Silkstone New
Colliery
were phased out as deeper coal mines to the east of If
you know
where to look there are remains of inclined plane railways and tramways
leading
to The land
between the M1 and Pog Well, which was crossed by the footpath on the
1854 map,
is now a playing field with goal posts and a small changing room close
to the
farm. It is several feet below the level of Higham
is
on the western boundary of regards Richard Thanks
for
the information. I have just been looking into the history of Leathley
Hall,
and have found that it is possible that when my Great Grandmother was
living
there it was owned by a descendant of Guy Fawkes' cousin. I need to
look into
this further though. Best
wishes, Christine Thank
you
Christine I
have
found working on this project very interesting. Regards
The
Old Police House
This was written
in answer to a question from a visitor to my home.
It was known as the Police Station by 1871 when
James Barritt of Skipton was the sergeant. In 1881 Thomas
Horne aged 37 born in Eversley,
All the best and thank you in advance for any information you may have
of interest or in any direction you can point me? This
grandparent's son
was an extraordinary man who aged 51 in 1823, he left his life as a
cloth
merchant and manufacturer in Leeds and went with his family (except one
son) to
the 'wilderness' of Maine, USA where he had bought acres of land with
two
others when he was 26 and he created a settlement which is now known as
The
Rangeley Lake Region.
----------
-----
The Crowther family of Higham and
links with Burntwood Hall
Ann
Hinchliffe 46 born in Higham Farm
Servant (Indoor)