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A. D.

Eminent

a beautiful celt in excellent preservation, four harrow heads of black flint, a light battle axe of green pebble, and a hollow gouge of hard grey stone, evidently intended for scooping out vessels of 1795 wood. Among the distinguished natives of the parish, have been Henry Briggs, a skilful mathematician, and author of a work on Men. logarithms, who was born at Warley about the year 1556; Dr. John Tillotson, Archbishop of Canterbury, born at Haugh-end, in the township of Sowerby, and baptized at Halifax church; Sir Henry Savile, one of the most accomplished scholars of the 17th century, born at Bradley, in the township of Stainland; and Dr. David Hartley, a celebrated metaphysical writer, born at Illingworth, in Ovenden. Among eminent residents were Daniel De Foe, author of Robinson Crusoe, and Sir William Herschel, the celebrated astronomer, who officiated as organist in the church.

The government of the town was formerly vested in two constables, nominated by the inhabitants, and sworn into office at the court-leet of the lord of the manor of Wakefield; but a charter of Charter of incorporation was granted in 1848, by which the borough is now Incorporadivided into wards, and the corporation consists of a mayor, ed in 1848. aldermen, and councillors. The following gentlemen have filled the office of chief magistrate since the above period :

1848 John Baldwin 1849 John Baldwin

1850 John Crossley

1851 John Crossley
1852 Samuel Waterhouse

tion grant

The inhabitants received the elective franchise in the 2nd of William IV., when Halifax was invested with the privilege of returning two members to parliament. The right of election is vested in the £10 householders; and the mayor is now returning officer. The borough comprises the whole of the township of Halifax, and parts of the townships of Northowram and Southowram, including an area of 1,254 acres. The first election, after Borough the enfranchisement of the borough, was in December, 1832, when Elections. it was warmly contested by four candidates, namely, Rawdon Briggs, jun., Esq., Charles Wood, Esq., Michael Stocks, Esq., and the Hon. James S. Wortley; the two first-named gentlemen were elected. The second election occurred in 1835, and gave rise to a contest unparalleled in a borough at least, for excitement and severity. The candidates were Charles Wood, Esq., the Hon. Severe conJames S. Wortley, and Edward Protheroe, jun., Esq.; and the tests. struggle was between the two latter gentlemen. The poll at the

close was

Wood

Wortley
Protheroe

336

308

307

The defeat of Mr. Protheroe, who came forward as a Radical, by a majority of one, excited such indignation among those of his supporters, who were non-electors, that on the last day of the poll,

A. D.

1835

Riotous Proceedings of the defeated party.

Borough

Members of Parliament.

Population.

(two days being then allowed by law,) the town was at the mercy of a mob of not less than 500 ruffians, armed with all kinds of weapons and missiles, who made an indiscriminate attack upon the dwellings of those who had had the courage to exercise the franchise as became free and independent men. The outrageous proceedings of these vagabonds, at one period, excited considerable anxiety for the safety of life, but the arrival of a troop of lancers, at seven o'clock in the evening, effected their dispersion, and restored tranquillity. The result of this attempt to enforce "mob law," (the most odious of all species of tyranny,) cost upwards of two thousand pounds, twenty-six parties having recovered damages from the “hundred rates" of Agbrigg and Morley, for the destruction of windows and furniture. It is generally thought that, if the authorities had exercised proper precaution in the early part of the day, by organizing an efficient constabulary force, the disgraceful scenes now recorded might, to a great extent, have been prevented. With reference to the representation of Halifax, it may be mentioned as a remarkable circumstance, that at the general election of 1837, Mr. Wortley, who was again a candidate, received precisely the same number of votes as in 1835, namely, 308! The following gentlemen have sat for the borough since the passing of the Reform Act :

1832 Rawdon Briggs, jun.;
1835 Charles Wood;
1837 E. Protheroe, jun.;

1841 E. Protheroe, jun.;
1846 Right Hon. C. Wood.

Charles Wood
Hon. James S. Wortley.
Charles Wood.

Charles Wood.

1847 Right Hon. C. Wood; Henry Edwards.

The election of 1806 was occasioned by the appointment of Mr. Wood to the office of Chancellor of the Exchequer; his father, Sir Francis Lindley Wood, died shortly afterwards, when he became Sir Charles Wood, Bart.

The poor law union comprises 19 chapelries and townships, and the population, according to the census of 1851, was 120,943, of which 59,893 were males, and 61,050 females. The number of houses at the same period was 24,987.

HOWDEN.

Howden is a place of considerable antiquity, and is pleasantly situated in a richly cultivated and level tract of country, in the East-riding, about a mile from the river Ouse. The streets are well paved and lighted with gas, and the inhabitants enjoy the blessing of an ample supply of water. The horse fair held here,-(mentioned in the first volume of this work)-is the largest in the kingdom, and is celebrated throughout Europe. It is owing to the enterprising spirit of capitalists, exhibited at such fairs as How

A. D.

1850

den, Horncastle, in Lincolnshire, and other places, that the superiority of the English breed of horses is kept up. Purchasers are not slow to avail themselves of the advantages offered at these great annual gatherings, and the eagerness with which first rate animals are sought after and bought, regardless of price, is the principal reason why most of the other fairs, especially in large towns, exhibit such an inferior collection. The town presents little in the shape of attraction. The Church is a spacious and stately strucSpacious ture, principally in the decorated English style; the east end, one Church. of the richest specimens of the kind in the kingdom, has been preserved from further dilapidation, at an outlay of £280, raised by subscription. Three splendid windows of stained glass were inserted a few years ago, bearing the arms of the Archbishop of York, the Bishop of Ripon, Lords Howden, Wenlock, Hotham, and Galway, and several landed proprietors in the parish, who contributed towards the expense: in one of the chantries, also, Philip Saltmarsh, Esquire, has introduced two beautiful stained glass windows. The Chapter House is a superb octagonal edifice, inferior only in dimensions to that at York; it contains thirty canopied stalls, richly ornamented with tabernacle work, exhibiting great perfection in the principal details. There are places of worship for dissenters, a free school is supported by bequest, a national school by subscription, and some considerable benefactions have been made for charitable purposes. The Poor Law Union of Howden comprises forty parishes or places; and the population in 1851, was 14,407, comprising 7,259 males, and 7,148 females. Population. This shews a slight decrease as compared with the census of 1841. The number of houses, according to the last return, was 3,206.

HUDDERSFIELD.

This place, called in the Doomsday Survey ODERSFELT, is supposed to have derived that name from Order, one of the earliest of the Saxon settlers on the river Colne. Though, in the immediate vicinity of the Roman Station, CAMBADUNUM, and subsequently of the Saxon fortress of Aldmondbury, it seems to have remained undistinguished by any event of importance; and at the time of the Conquest, is described as a barren waste. The first historical notice of the place occurs in a grant made in the year 1200, by Colin de Dammeville to the monks of Stanlaw, of all his part of the Mill of Huddersfield," which, together with other grants, he had received from Roger de Lacy; and in the third year of the reign of Richard II., it appears that the privilege of free warren in Huddersfield was bestowed upon the prior and canons of Nostel. The manor, which is within the honour of Pontefract, at the time of the Reformation, belonged to the Ramsden family, who, in the 23rd of Charles II., obtained for the inhabitants a weekly market,

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A. D.

1820

and whose descendant, Sir John William Ramsden, Bart., is the present proprietor.

The peculiar advantages the place derives from its copious river, and the abundance of coal in the immediate vicinity, led to the establishment of various works, and during the last century it has been steadily increasing in manufacturing importance; within the Manufaclast thirty years it has more than doubled its population; and it is turing importance at present one of the principal seats of the woollen manufacture in the county. The town is situated on the summit and acclivities of an eminenee, in the beautiful valley of the Colne, and on one of the great roads from Leeds to Manchester; the streets, of which many have been formed within the last few years, are regular and airy, and the houses are generally well built. Many good houses and public buildings have been erected of the fine durable freestone raised from neighbouring quarries; and the numerous alterations that have taken place, by removing obstructions, and widening the principal thoroughfares and approaches, have given the town a handsome and attractive appearance. These improvements, which are still in progress, have been made under a local act obtained in 1820. The streets are well paved, and lighted with gas from works established in 1821, which, being on a scale inadequate to the supply, were rebuilt on a larger and more eligible plan, in 1824, at an expense of £10,000, raised by a proprietary of £20 shareholders. The inhabitants are supplied with pure water from Supply of the springs of Longwood and Golcar, to the west of the town, by works erected in 1827, at an expense of £10,000, raised in shares of £100 each. The water is collected in a spacious reservoir of four acres in extent, from which it is conveyed to the various houses by cast-iron pipes; a handsome building has been erected at the head of the reservoir, for the transaction of business, and in addition to the supply for domestic uses, is a reservoir of six acres, belonging to the company, for the numerous mills in the town. The subscription library was established in 1807, and has a collection of more than 4000 volumes. A Scientific and Mechanics' Institute was formed in 1825, but not being well supported, it was discontinued, and a new institution, under the appellation of the Philosophical Society, substituted in its place. The Philosophical Hall, a handsome building in the Grecian style, was erected in 1837, at an expense of £3150; it is 117 feet in length, and 60 feet in width, and contains a valuable library, a museum, a laboratory, with other accommodations for the meetings of the society. A law library was established in 1829; and there are two public reading and news rooms, both well supported.

Water.

About half a mile to the south of the town is Lockwood Spa, of which the water is highly esteemed for its medicinal virtues. The environs of the town are remarkably pleasant, and abound with features of interest, and with picturesque scenery.

The woollen manufacture, which is carried on to a very great

A. D.

1765

extent, both in the town and in the adjacent villages, consists of broad and narrow cloths, kerseymeres, serges, cords, shawls, fancy waistcoatings, and other fabrics of cotton, worsted, and silk, in various combinations, of the most elegant patterns and in endless variety. For the better accommodation of the manufacturers and purchasers, a Cloth Hall was erected by Sir John Ramsden in Cloth Hall. 1765, and, from the great increase of business, enlarged by his son in 1780. The present hall, which is two stories high, encloses a circular area of 880 yards in circumference, divided into two semicircles, by a range of building one story high; the semicircles are subdivided into streets of shops, or stalls. Above the entrance is a handsome cupalo, with a clock and bell for regulating the opening and closing of the hall, which is wholly lighted from within the area. On market days it is open from an early hour in the morning for the transaction of business, till half-past twelve, when it is closed till three o'clock, and again opened for the removal of the various articles exposed for sale. The number of manufac

turers attending the hall may be averaged at 600.

Canal.

Great facility is afforded to the trade of the place by the extent of its inland navigation, both to the east and west extremities of the country: the Ramsden Canal, commencing at the Kings Mills, Ramsden close to the town, crosses the high road to Leeds, and, passing the Blackhouse brook, near Deighton, forms a junction with the Calder in the vicinity of Cooper Bridge, opening a communication with Halifax, Wakefield, Leeds, York, and Hull. The Huddersfield Canal, constructed under an act of parliament in 1794, joins the Ramsden Canal at the southern extremity of the town, and runs westward by Longwood, Slaithwaite, and Marsden; it passes through a tunnel 5,450 yards in length, and in some parts at a depth of 220 yards below the surface, to within about two miles of Dob Cross, and after crossing the river Tame in several of its windings, and approaching within a mile of Lydgate, it passes Mosley and Stalybridge, and unites with the Ashton and Oldham Canal near Ashton, whence there is a daily communication by water with Liverpool.

cation.

The town, too, possesses the advantage of railway communica- Railway tion. The Manchester and Leeds line was opened direct in 1847; Communiand the Huddersfield station, erected in Tumbling Field, behind Westgate, of which the first stone was laid by Earl Fitzwilliam on October 9th, 1846, is one of the most elegant structures of the kind in the kingdom; adjoining is a large hotel, the property of the company. The line enters from the north by a stupendous viaduct of forty-five arches, and is connected with lines and branches direct to Dewsbury, Leeds, Halifax, Bradford, &c. Huddersfield and Sheffield Junction railway, constructed by the Manchester and Leeds company, passes southward to Penistone, where it joins the Manchester, Sheffield, and Lincolnshire line. It leaves the town by an immense viaduct over the meadows at

The

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