(Click on each picture for a larger view in a new window)
Continued from page 1
Follow the path beyond the mill cottages along to the steep river bank, until you reach the steps leading underneath the railway line to Vale Mill.
Lower Providence Mill cottages
The path beyond the Mill cottages
Looking back up the path towards the Mill cottages
Follow the path beyond the mill cottages along to the steep river bank, until you reach the steps leading underneath the railway line to Vale Mill.
New House Farm is known to have existed before 1630. William Newsholme conducted his business as a manufacturer from here in the late 18th century, employing outworkers and selling his cloth in Halifax. In 1780, at Halifax Piece Hall he heard of the Sunday School set up by Robert Raikes in Gloucester where poor children were taught reading, writing and the catechism. The very next Sunday he set up a Sunday School in a cottage alongside his house. This is reputed to be one of the first Sunday Schools in Yorkshire.
At Cackleshaw, which also has had a farm since 1630, turn left up Sykes Lane. The cottage on the left, lying parallel to the lane, was once the home of Joseph Hall, a
locally famous 19th century composer.
On reaching Keighley Road turn right until the former Wesleyan Chapel at the corner of Goose Cote Lane is reached.
Bogthorn Wesleyan Chapel, known locally as "Stone Chapel", was opened in 1882,
paid for with the proceeds of the sale of Sykes Head School. The foundation stone
was laid by Isaac Holden. The chapel closed in 1978.
Cross the road to reach the Almshouses.
The Charles Edward Sugden Almshouses opened in 1930 as the result of a
fund of £8487 from the wills of Mr. and Mrs. Sugden. The building contains 7 dwellings and a Committee room. Continuing in the same spirit as Jonas Sugden, the wills stated that the residents were to be "inhabitants of Oakworth... and not Catholics, Socialists, or supporters of the Labour Party"!
Turn back towards the centre of Oakworth. "Branshaw" on the right was built by
Mr., later Sir, James Hill, on the site of the former vicarage. The building alongside the road at the entrance to the golf course was once Leeming's
Smithy. The cottages beyond the smithy once formed the first Sykes Head Wesleyan
School. Continuing past Slaymaker Lane onto Lidget, the small building, sandwiched between Laurel Bank and Sykes House, is a fragment of the second Sykes
Head School.
The Methodist Free School at Sykes Head was erected by public subscription
in 1790-1792. This was soon found to be too small and the second school was built on
what was then Oakworth Common in 1826. This was enlarged in 1845 and again in
1855. It was described as a "long low building of one storey", boasting a public
clock and sundial and a Maypole in the grounds. In 1855 the school catered for 265 day scholars,
of whom 157 were half-timers. The school closed in 1878, replaced by the Victoria Road
School.
Continue down Lidget and turn left down Lark Street at the bakery. The house on the corner of Lark Street and Victoria Road is "The Hollies".
This was the first doctor's surgery to be set up in Oakworth. The practice was established by Dr Thomson in 1897. Dr
Bransfield moved the surgery to a former grocer's shop in Chapel Lane in 1955. The surgery has now moved to a purpose built health centre a little way down Lidget from the bakery.
Turn right along Victoria Road, passing the former Methodist Manse. At the junction of Victoria Road and Station Road, on the right, is the former "Ponden Mill" warehouse, which was once the
stable for Oakworth House.
The stables comprised a covered yard, surrounded by a coachman's house, harness room, coach house, 6 stalls and 3 loose boxes. The building was bought by Johnscraft in 1927 and was used mainly for the manufacture of pyjamas until 1983, when Johnscraft moved to larger premises in
Keighley.
On the opposite corner stood the Wesleyan Board School.
The Wesleyan Board School was opened in 1878 and accommodated 450 pupils The builders were Tuley Bros. of Oakworth and the building was designed in the Italian style by George Smith of Bradford. There were 7 classrooms, an infants schoolroom, an assembly room and a hall capable
of seating 800 with an organ, the first to be installed by John Laycock of Cross Hills. A replica of this organ is to be found on his gravestone in
Kildwick churchyard. A clock and bell tower were added in 1884. The school closed in 1937.
Wesleyan Board School
Turn left down Station Road (or Park Avenue) for about 200 yards, and then turn right to approach the cluster of old farm buildings in Dockroyd.
A farm has been in existence on this site since before 1630. The small two-storey building at the edge of the lane is referred to as a
"pot o' four" - a building where four hand woolcombers would work together sharing the same stove and cauldron in which they heated their combs.
Turn right up Dockroyd Lane and when you reach the rear of the school look into the playground.
Oakworth Primary School was opened in 1937 and was built on the lake of the gardens of Oakworth House. The original outline of the lake can be seen in the border of the playground. The main hall of the school owes its octagonal shape to the theory of some progressive educationalist of the day who reasoned that as children tended to play games in a circular fashion, the hall should echo this tendency. Presumably the octagon was as close to a circle as the architect could be persuaded to design. Sir Isaac Holden used to allow villagers access to these gardens, but even in those days vandalism caused him to withdraw this privilege!
The pot o' four
Children playing by the lake on the site of Oakworth First School
Continue up Dockroyd Lane past the Wesleyan Graveyard. The large monument in the centre is that of Jonas Sugden and many members of his family.
Cross Chapel Lane and enter Oakworth Park.
Oakworth House
Holden Park, to give it its true title, is on the site of a mansion known as Oakworth House, built between 1864 and 1874 by Sir Isaac Holden. He was born in Scotland in 1807 but made his fortune by creating the worlds' largest
wool combing business, with mills in Bradford and St. Denis, France. A man of many parts -
MP, industrialist, philanthropist and inventor - his main contribution in this field being the
"Lucifer" safety match. The mansion was built at a cost of£80, 000, about £8 million in todays terms. With the gardens and estate the cost was £200,000. The house was designed by Mr. George Smith of Bradford and constructed from stone quarried on the spot. The rockeries and
mosaics were installed by French and Italian craftsmen. After Sir Isaac's death in 1897 the building remained empty until it was destroyed by fire in 1909. The site and woods to the rear were given to Oakworth UDC by Mr. Francis Illingworth, Sir Isaac's grandson, and the park was opened in 1925.
The only fragments of the house to survive are the portico, summerhouse and the laundry, now used as the park keeper's rooms. The house itself occupied approximately the front half of what is now the bowling green. To the rear, extending over
the "caves" to what was until recently the putting green, was a winter garden. A billiard room and Turkish bath house stood where we now find the
children's playground. Beyond this, on the flat area in front of the woods, were hothouses used as orangeries, orchid houses and vineries. Peaches, melons, bananas and
exotic flowers were grown and delivered daily to London when Sir Isaac was serving as the first MP for Keighley.
Continue through the park to the playing
field/football field, take the path on the left through the former allotments, and follow the path up the side of the wood by the field, bearing right at the top of the wood, to emerge through a hole in the wall, opposite the cottages. Turn right and follow the lane to its junction with Racemoor Lane (where, as the name suggests, horse races were once held.) Turn right down the hill, around Moor Pond and into
Clough Lane. There is a string of 5 dams, some drained, along Gill Clough, some for industrial use, and some to feed the fountains, cascades and the (sadly ineffective) fire fighting system in Oakworth House.
The building rising high above the lane to the right, about 100 yards from Lidget, was until 1983
Fearnsides Shuttle Works.
The building was first used as a water-powered shuttle works by the Burwin family. When Sir Isaac expanded his estate he acquired the building to serve as a workshop. When the estate was broken up, the building was again used as a shuttle works by Fearnsides. The works was bought by its major customer - the Scandura group - who continued to make shuttles for weaving conveyor belting until it closed.
On reaching the main road, turn right along Chapel Lane to the new Methodist Chapel on the right.
The present Methodist Chapel was opened in 1960, replacing a much larger
building on the same site. This previous chapel was built in the Grecian style in 1858 and enlarged in 1873 to hold 1200 people. Commemorative tablets and a sundial from two of the previous Wesleyan schools have been set into the wall of the extension, completed in 1983.
This now brings us back to our starting point, Holden Park.
NATURE'S REMEDIES
Of acorn and of water born, where walks the Goddess green,
A place where nature rambles free, where wild flowers are seen.
Put wild violets in a room, so says the sorcerer sage,
A flower small, to brighten gloom, that's said to calm down rage.
White Bryony, a magic charm, to fight off the evil eye, It will put off the devil, when he goes riding by.
There's Dandelion, which makes a tea, or coffee, beer and stout, Makes rheumatism no more be, then clears the system out.
Ragwort makes a poultice too, to put upon the eye,
While nettles make a worthwhile drink, I know you'd like to try.
Where acorn and where water be, try a natural remedy,
Cheaper on your little purse, makes you better and not worse!
Kathleen Scatchard.
If you have any questions or comments, please email the site webmaster Andy Wade