Ramble s 
 
 ABOUT 
 
 MeRLEY 
 
 Smith Jun. 
 
DUKE 
 
 UNIVERSITY 
 
 LIBRARY 
 



 
 
 
 
 
 
 
MORLEY OLD CHAPEL 
 
 AS IT WAS. 
 
RAMBLES ABOUT MORLEY, 
 
 WITH 
 
 DESCRIPTIVE AND HISTORIC SKETCHES; 
 
 ALSO, AN ACCOUNT OF THE 
 
 JJiw anil JJrjofrws of Ur MmIIcr filannfauto 
 
 IN THIS PLACE. 
 
 ILLUSTRATED WITH A PLAN OF MORLEY, AND NUMEROUS ENGRAVINGS. 
 
 BY 
 
 WILLIAM SMITH, JOT., 
 
 PRESIDENT OF MORLEY MECHANICS’ INSTITUTE ; 
 
 Author of “Adventure$ with my Alpen-Stock, and Carpet-Bag, or a Three Weeks’ 
 Trip to France and Switzerland. 
 
 To roam in fancy in each cherished scene, 
 
 The village graveyard and the village green, 
 
 The woodland walk remote, the greenwood glade, 
 
 The mossy seat beneath the hawthom’B shade, 
 
 The white-washed cottage where the woodbine grew, 
 
 And all the favourite haunts our childhood knew. 
 
 Kirke White. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 JOHN RUSSELL SMITH, 36, SOHO SQUARE. 
 
 MORLEY: S. STEAD, BRUNSWICK STREET. 
 
 MDCCCLXVI. 
 
[ALL LIGHTS RESERVED'.] 
 
W S’Vy 
 
 h? b^j 
 
 TO MY CHILDREN, 
 
 ALBERT EDWARD AND MARY LOUISA, 
 
 THIS VOLUME IS INSCRIBED. 
 

 Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 in 2018 with funding from 
 Duke University Libraries 
 
 https://archive.org/details/ramblesaboutmorl01smit 
 
V. 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 Thirty-six years have passed away since Norrisson Scatcherd, Esq., 
 published his “ History of Morley and the Surrounding Villages. ” No 
 one we presume will deny that since that time a new era has dawned 
 upon this place. On this account we have been led to suppose, that a 
 work showing not only what Morley has been in the past, but what it 
 now is, would be acceptable to our friends and neighbours. 
 
 Under the general, yet we trust, not inappropriate title which we 
 have chosen, we purpose introducing our readers to some of the objects 
 of interest, ere they have for ever gone, and to those reminiscences of 
 the past, with which our village haunts are crowded. Yes,emphatically 
 “ Our Village,” the place where we were born ; where we passed the 
 joyous days of infancy—the spring-time of life; where we are now 
 battling for the bread that perisheth, and where we hope, when 
 “ Life’s journey is over” to be laid in the graveyard, 
 
 “ Where the rude forefathers of the hamlet Bleep.” 
 
 It is of this spot— Morley—one of the nooks or corners of Old 
 England, we purpose to write a series of chapters ; of its past history, 
 in some measure, but more particularly, of what may justly be termed 
 its modern history, as comprised within the last one hundred years ; 
 also, to notice the various spots in the village and neighbourhood, 
 which, while memorials, also suggest a moral on the subject of that 
 progress, under the influence of which, the locality and people are 
 fast changing their character. We intend to write about its topograph¬ 
 ical, historical and other associations; with biographical sketches 
 of some distinguished individuals connected therewith ; and other 
 matters worthy of being chronicled, and read, by those at least, 
 who take an interest in the place of their birth. 
 
 In submitting this book to our friends and the public, we hope 
 that it may be found to contain many interesting particulars, especially 
 with regard to the past, not hitherto known to them. With reference 
 to the history of the Old Chapel, we are enabled to give an account of 
 
VI 
 
 the origin and foundation of the Chapel of Saint Nicholas, which 
 was built on the site, as we believe, of the Saxon Church of “ Saint 
 Mary’s in the Wood.” This information obtained from most reliable 
 sources, seems to have escaped the notice of the first historian of 
 Morley, otherwise, it would have saved him endless speculations and 
 gratified his thirst for knowledge respecting this ancient edifice. 
 
 As to the success of our endeavour to produce a volume of local 
 matter, which should combine useful information with intellectual 
 pleasure, we leave it to the judgment of those of our readers who are 
 acquainted with the place of which we write. We have not indulged 
 in speculations, gratifying perhaps to the Antiquarian, but dry and 
 unmeaning to the general reader; on the other hand we have aimed 
 at giving a plain and simple account of the place, which can be read 
 and understood by all. We are well aware of the many shortcomings 
 in this work, but in extenuation we may say, that we have done the 
 best we could with the materials at our command. 
 
 We have found our task more than usually difficult. To write con¬ 
 cerning persons who have lived or are still living in our native village 
 without giving offence, seemed almost impossible; but we have endea¬ 
 voured to avoid, any omission of what is praiseworthy, as well as 
 anything which could be considered for a moment, to savour of 
 flattery, which we utterly detest. With Bishop Jebb we would say, 
 “If I have written a sentence or a word that can bear a captious or 
 unreasonable construction, I earnestly entreat a more lenient inter¬ 
 pretation.” We have aimed at truth, neither disguising it, nor 
 intentionally misrepresenting it, from fear or affection towards any 
 party or individual whatsoever. 
 
 In conclusion, we beg to return our best thanks to all who have in 
 any way assisted us, more especially to W. Wheater, Esq., of Leeds, 
 author of “The History of Sherbum andCawood” for a communica¬ 
 tion, and at the same time, we return our acknowledgments to our 
 numerous subscribers. 
 
 Alma House, Moeley. 
 
 April 12 th, 1866. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 
 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 TITLE PAGE 
 
 .. 
 
 .. 
 
 . . I 
 
 DEDICATION 
 
 . • 
 
 .. 
 
 . . Ill 
 
 PREFACE 
 
 .. 
 
 .. 
 
 .. V 
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 .. 
 
 .. 
 
 . , VII 
 
 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 ,, 
 
 .. .. 
 
 • . XII 
 
 Situation of Morley 
 
 
 .. 13 
 
 Origin of Name .. 
 
 
 .. 13 
 
 Earliest mention in Doomsday Book 
 
 
 .. 13 
 
 Wapentake of Morley 
 
 
 .. 14 
 
 Ilbert de Lacy, First Lord of the Manor of Morley 
 
 
 .. 15 
 
 Morley, Two Centuries ago. . 
 
 
 .. 16 
 
 Population... .. .. .. 
 
 
 .. 18 
 
 Curious Entries in Old Town’s Book 
 
 
 .. 19 
 
 Morality of the Villagers .. 
 
 
 .. 22 
 
 Dialect of the People 
 
 
 .. 25 
 
 Political Aspect of Morley, Past and Present. . 
 
 
 .. 26 
 
 List of Morley Voters at the West Riding Election, 1741 
 
 .. 26 
 
 Do. do. do. 
 
 1807 
 
 .. 27 
 
 Corn Law Agitation—Public Meetings 
 
 
 .. 29 
 
 Public Rejoicings on various occasions 
 
 .. 
 
 .. 29 
 
 Religious Aspect of Morley 
 
 
 .. 31 
 
 Physical do. do. 
 
 .. 
 
 .. 32 
 
Till. 
 
 Description of Saint Peter’s Church .. „ 
 
 Church Rate Agitation 
 Saint Peter’s Churchyard .. 
 
 Rooms Lane, with Extract from Town’s Book, respecting it 
 Old White Cross Inn .. .. .. 
 
 Nelson’s Arms Inn, the Village Court House, of Fifty years ago 
 Floral, Horticultural and Agricultural Society 
 Cricket in Morley, with Notice of Nelson Cricket Club 
 Albion Mill, Church Street.. .. .. .. 
 
 Rise of the Woollen Manufacture in Morley .. 
 
 The Apprenticeship System 
 
 The Domestic Manufacture a Century ago .. 
 
 Crank Mill, Station Road, erected 1790 
 
 Opposition to Introduction of Machinery—Town’s Meetings 
 
 Turn Out in 1833. Riotous Conduct of the Villagers .. 
 
 Gillroyd Mill Company formed, 1834 
 
 Introduction of Mungo into the Morley Manufacture .. 
 
 The Plug Drawing of 1842.. 
 
 Introduction of Power Looms and Cotton Warp 
 Present Position of the Morley Manufacture .. 
 
 The Various Processes of Manufacture 
 Chamber of Commerce 
 
 Old House and Ancient Gateway, Church Street 
 Post Office, with notice of the Hornblowers 
 Old New Chapel and Graveyard .. .. t . 
 
 Longevity of Inhabitants of Morley.. 
 
 Old David Hirst. A Village Sketch 
 
 Banks Hill in the Olden Time 
 
 The Old Fold 
 
 Mr. John Gisburn 
 
 Mr. John Webster 
 
 Bank House 
 
 Yew Tree House, with Notices of Several former Owners 
 Dr. Swinden, a Biographical Sketch 
 Captain Webster ,. 
 
 Providence Mill .. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 . 35 
 
 . 38 
 
 . 40 
 . 41 
 . 42 
 43 
 . 44 
 
 . 44 
 . 46 
 . 46 
 . 47 
 . 48 
 . 65 
 . 56 
 . 57 
 . 68 
 . 58 
 . 59 
 . 60 
 . 61 
 .. 62 
 ... 68 
 .. 69 
 
 . 70 
 .. 71 
 .. 74 
 .. 75 
 .. 76 
 
 .. 77 
 
 .. 77 
 
 .. 77 
 .. 78 
 
 .. 79 
 .. 79 
 
 _. 81 
 .. 81 
 
IX 
 
 Neepshaw Lane, with Extract from Town’s Book respecting it 
 Old White Swan, a Wayside Inn of a Century ago 
 Rehoboth Chapel, School and Burial Ground.. 
 
 Mr. Nathaniel Dixon 
 
 Morley Hall, with Notices of former Occupants 
 Dr. Priestley .. .. 
 
 The Bottoms 
 
 The Village Dame School .. 
 
 Visitation of Cholera, 1849.. 
 
 Pinfold or Common Pound.. 
 
 Ducking Stool, with Remarks on this mode of punishment 
 
 Crank Mill and Station Road 
 
 Ancient Modes of Travelling 
 
 Description of Morley Tunnel 
 
 Morley Gas Light Company .. 
 
 Valley Mills 
 Morley Main Colliery 
 
 Low Common, the Recreation Ground of our Forefathers 
 
 Old Customs and Amusements 
 
 Our Village Feasts,—Past and Present 
 
 Riding the Stang 
 
 Perambulating the Parish Boundary 
 Temperance Society, established 1832 
 Mount Pleasant .. 
 
 Primitive Methodist Society’s Chapel, Troy Road, 
 
 New School, Troy Hill 
 Town’s School 
 
 Sketches of Vestry Meetings of the Past and Present .. 
 Scatcherd’s Lana.. 
 
 Morley House, with Notices of the Scatcherd Family .. 
 
 The Village Stocks 
 
 Old Chapel,—Notes on Restoration .. 
 
 Origin and Foundation of the Old Chapel 
 Nicholas de Rotherfield 
 
 Ancient Inscriptions on the Walls of the Old Chapel 
 Religious Changes the Old Chapel has undergone 
 
 PAOB. 
 .. 82 
 .. 83 
 
 .. 85 
 .. 88 
 .. 89 
 
 .. 90 
 .. 92 
 .. 92 
 
 .. 92 
 .. 94 
 .. 94 
 .. 96 
 .. 97 
 .. 99 
 .. 100 
 .. 101 
 .. 102 
 .. 103 
 .. 104 
 .. 107 
 .. 110 
 .. 110 
 .. 112 
 .. 112 
 .. 113 
 .. 113 
 .. 114 
 .. 114 
 .. 119 
 .. 120 
 .. 123 
 .. 124 
 .. 128 
 .. 130 
 . 133 
 
 ... 136 
 
X 
 
 PAGE, 
 
 Account of the various Old Chapel Trust Deeds .. .. 141 
 
 Catalogue of the Ministers of the Old Chapel since 1626 .. 144 
 
 Biographical Sketch of the Rev. Samuel Wales .. 144 
 
 Do. 
 
 do. 
 
 do. 
 
 — Etherington .. 
 
 .. 145 
 
 Do. 
 
 do. 
 
 do. 
 
 Christopher Nesse, M.A 
 
 .. 145 
 
 Do. 
 
 do. 
 
 do. 
 
 John Noble, M.A. 
 
 .. 146 
 
 Do. 
 
 do. 
 
 do. 
 
 Samuel Bailey .. 
 
 .. 146 
 
 Do. 
 
 do. 
 
 do. 
 
 Thomas Sharp, M.A. .. 
 
 .. 147 
 
 Do. 
 
 do. 
 
 do. 
 
 Robert Pickering, M.A. 
 
 ... 148 
 
 Do. 
 
 do. 
 
 do. 
 
 Joseph Dawson 
 
 .. 149 
 
 Do. 
 
 do. 
 
 do. 
 
 Timothy Aldred „ 
 
 „ 150 
 
 Do. 
 
 do. 
 
 do. 
 
 Thomas Morgan 
 
 ._ 150 
 
 Do. 
 
 do. 
 
 do. 
 
 Samuel Lucas 
 
 ... 151 
 
 Do. 
 
 do. 
 
 do. 
 
 — Spencer 
 
 .. 152 
 
 Do. 
 
 do. 
 
 do. 
 
 — Duncan 
 
 „ 152 
 
 Do. 
 
 do. 
 
 do. 
 
 Abraham Hudswell .. 
 
 .. 153 
 
 Do. 
 
 do. 
 
 do. 
 
 Joseph Fox „ 
 
 .. 154 
 
 Do. 
 
 do. 
 
 do. 
 
 John Morris. . 
 
 ... 154 
 
 Do. 
 
 do. 
 
 do. 
 
 James Wonnacott « 
 
 ... 155 
 
 Do. 
 
 do. 
 
 do. 
 
 Frederick Barnes, B.A. 
 
 _. 155 
 
 Old Chapel Graveyard, with Copies of Inscriptions on Grave Stones 156 
 
 Extracts from the Old Chapel Register Books.. .. .. 162 
 
 Formation and Present Condition of Mechanics’ Institution .. 164 
 Naturalists’ Society .. .. .. .. .. 166 
 
 The Old Manor House and its Historical Associations.. .. 166 
 
 Lords of the Manor of Morley .. .. .. .. 166 
 
 Account of the Farnley Wood Conspiracy .. .. .. 166 
 
 Biographical Sketch of Titus Salt, Esq., Ex M.P. for Bradford .. 167 
 
 Zion Independent Chapel, and Sunday Schools .. .. 170 
 
 Hope Foundry .. .. .. .. .. .. 172 
 
 Description of New Wesleyan Chapel .. .. .. 172 
 
 Origin and Progress of the Wesleyan Sunday School .. .. 176 
 
 Wesleyan Reform Chapel .. .. .. .. .. 177 
 
 National School, Town End .. .. .. .. 179 
 
 Cinderhill, with Remarks on the Origin of the Name .. .. 180 
 
 Ratten Row, the “ Muster Row ” of former Days .. .. 189 
 
XI 
 
 PAGE* 
 
 Old Ike Rodgers and his Hunting Propensities .. .. 181 
 
 Old Farm House, with Extracts from Old Lease, referring to it.. 181 
 Biographical Sketch of the late Isaac Crowther, Esq. of Morley 183 
 Hungerhill, with Remarks on the Origin of the Name.. .. 184 
 
 Ebenezer Chapel, belonging to the Primitive Methodists .. 185 
 
 Hembrigg Mill, with Account of Boiler Explosion, in 1863 .. 186 
 
 Stone Quarries.—Account of Organic Remains found therein .. 187 
 
 Stump Cross, with Remarks on its Origin .. .. .. 188 
 
 Remarks on Benefit Societies, Lodges, etc., in Morley.. .. 188 
 
 Cross Hall. Notices of former Owners and Occupants .. 189 
 
 Miss Bosanquet, afterwards the celebrated Mrs. Fletcher .. 190 
 
 Account of the Quaker’s Burial Ground, Bruntcliffe Lane .. 191 
 
 Springfield House, with Sketch of John Webster, Esq. .. 191 
 
 Concluding Remarks .. .. .. .. .. 191 
 
 Appendix I. Catalogue of Churchwardens from the year 1700 .. 193 
 
 Appendix II. Table of Benefit Societies, etc., in Morley .. 194 
 
 List of Subscribers .. .. .. .. .. 195 
 
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 I. 
 
 Old Chapel, as it was ... ... to face 
 
 title PAGfi 
 
 II. 
 
 Crank Mill ... ._ 
 
 »1 
 
 
 62 
 
 III. 
 
 Gillroyd Mill ... _ 
 
 
 
 58 
 
 IV. 
 
 Springfield Mill .. .. 
 
 » 
 
 •. 
 
 63 
 
 V. 
 
 Old House and Gateway m 
 
 »> 
 
 
 69 
 
 VI. 
 
 Yew Tree House, Bank House, etc. 
 
 1* 
 
 . . 
 
 79 
 
 VII. 
 
 Providence Mill .. .. 
 
 »> 
 
 
 81 
 
 VIII. 
 
 The Hall ... 
 
 »> 
 
 
 89 
 
 IX. 
 
 Old Cottages, Pinfold, and Town’s Quarry 
 
 
 94 
 
 X. 
 
 Valley Mills 
 
 »» 
 
 
 101 
 
 XI. 
 
 Mount Pleasant 
 
 » 
 
 
 112 
 
 XII: 
 
 Old Chapel, as it is 
 
 »» 
 
 
 124 
 
 XIII. 
 
 Ancient Gravestones in Old Chapel 
 
 Yard 
 
 
 158 
 
 XIV. 
 
 Manor House 
 
 >> 
 
 
 166 
 
 XV. 
 
 Zion Chapel Schools 
 
 »» 
 
 
 171 
 
 XVI. 
 
 Hope Foundry 
 
 »♦ 
 
 .. 
 
 172 
 
 XVII. 
 
 Wesleyan Chapel ... 
 
 J* 
 
 • • 
 
 174 
 
 XVIII. 
 
 Peel Mills.. 
 
 »» 
 
 
 177 
 
 XIX. 
 
 Rods Mill, 1800 and 1866 
 
 >* 
 
 .. 
 
 183 
 
 XX. 
 
 Britannia Mill 
 
 
 
 189 
 
 XXI. 
 
 Springfield House.. 
 
 
 
 191 
 
 Plan of Mobley at the end of the Work. 
 
INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. 
 
 Time rolls his ceaseless course. The race of yore, 
 
 Who danced our infancy upon their knee, 
 
 And told our marvelling boyhood legend’s store, 
 
 Of their strange ventures happed by land and sea, 
 
 How are they blotted from the things that be! 
 
 How few, all weak and withered in their force, 
 
 Wait on the verge of dark eternity, 
 
 Like stranded wrecks, the tide returning hoarse 
 To sweep them from our sight. Time rolls his ceaseless course.” 
 
 LADY OF THE LAKE. 
 
 Morley, like ancient Rome, is situated on seven kills or eleva¬ 
 tions, and on one of these hills, dignified by the name of 
 “ Troy ” stood in Saxon and early Norman times a church 
 which was called “ St. Mary’s in the Wood.” Ubert de 
 Lacy, the great Norman, was then the “Priam” of this city of 
 Troy, and the Romish priests said their prayers in its temple. 
 Having no records of its renown in the days of Homer, 
 we are reluctantly compelled to leave the ancient Trojans to 
 the speculations of the antiquary, or to those curious in such 
 matters. 
 
 As to the origin of the name of Morley, Scatcherd, in his 
 “ History of Morley ” offers no explanation, therefore a few 
 words on the pronunciation and probable origin of the word 
 may he appropriately introduced at the commencement of this 
 work. We propose to account for it, in the common-sense 
 way, as being derived from “Moor" in allusion to the physical 
 appearance of this district at the time it was named and “Ley," 
 a field or fields, or as it may he rendered we believe, “ Moor- 
 fields.” We think the abbreviation in the first syllable of the 
 word arose, in order to make the spelling agree more closely 
 with the pronunciation. 
 
 The earliest mention of Morley in the history of this 
 country, is to he found in “ Doomsday Book” which was 
 
14 
 
 compiled between the years 1080 and 1086; it is there 
 named in connection with the Norman survey, made by 
 William the Conqueror, as a Register of the lands of which 
 he had recently taken possession. A facsimile of this work 
 is kept in several of the Leeds’ Libraries, and it is from one 
 of these, the following paragraph referring to Morley, has 
 been copied :— 
 
 “ In Morelia habuit Dunstan VI. Car terrse ad Geld, et VI. 
 Car possunt ibi ess qui Ilbertus babuit sed weist est. Ibi est 
 Ecclesia. Silva past. 1. leng. long et 1 late. T. R. E. Val 
 xl. Sol.” 
 
 The following is the translation :—“In Morley, Dunstan held 
 six carracutes (about six hundred acres) of land subject to 
 taxes ; and other six carracutes may be there, which Ilbert 
 held, but it is waste. There is a Church —a native wood, one 
 mile long and one broad—in the time of King Edward— 
 value forty shillings.” Nearly eight centuries have passed away 
 since this entry was made in Doomsday Book ; but we believe 
 that Morley has claims to far higher antiquity, though docu¬ 
 mentary evidence is wanting to establish the fact. From an 
 Historical Directory of the West Riding of Yorkshire, pub¬ 
 lished in 1864, we copy the following :— 
 
 “ Morley is a large village and township, having, according to 
 a parliamentary return made in 1861, a population of 6840. The 
 manufacture of woollen cloth, is the staple trade of the place, 
 besides which, in the neighbourhood, are valuable stone quarries 
 and productive coal mines.” 
 
 For the benefit of those who may read this book, we wish 
 that we could give anything like an accurate or reliable 
 account, of the order of events in the history of “ Our 
 Village,” during the long period of time, from 1080 to 1864 ; 
 but through the apathy or inability of our forefathers, we 
 know little of its history, until a comparatively recent period. 
 
 We have, however, the fact of Morley having given its 
 name to a Wapentake, in the Saxon times, and on this account 
 
15 
 
 we may reasonably conjecture that it was then aplace of consider¬ 
 able importance. This Wapentake was formed in the time of 
 King Alfred, who parcelled out England into counties, and 
 made Yorkshire into three divisions, known as the East, North, 
 and West-Ridings. These were again subdivided into Wapen¬ 
 takes. Scatcherd quotes the opinions of several writers, as 
 to the meaning of the word “ Wapentake,’' but we do not 
 believe any of these to be correct, and prefer to accept the 
 explanation given by Hovendon, a celebrated writer on these 
 subjects. He says, that “ when a person received the govern¬ 
 ment of one of these divisions, at the appointed time and 
 usual place, the elder sort met him, and when he had alighted 
 from his horse, rose up to him—then he held up his spear 
 and took security of all present, according to custom; who¬ 
 ever came touched his spear with theirs, and by this touch of 
 armour was confirmed in one common interest, and thus from 
 “ Waipan ” or “ weapons ” and “ tac ” or “ touch ” they were 
 called “ Wapentakes.” Morley Wapentake, in 1821, com¬ 
 prised 4 Parishes;—Birstal, Bradford, Calverly, and Halifax 
 —58 townships, 35,509 inhabited houses and 176,475 inhabi¬ 
 tants. The fee of this Wapentake at one time, was the pro¬ 
 perty of Henry, Duke of Lancaster, who dying without male 
 issue, his large estates were divided between his daughters, of 
 whom, Blanch, being married to John of Gaunt, Duke of Lan¬ 
 caster, 4th son of King Edward III, had the bailliwick of 
 this Hundred or Wapentake assigned for her property.” 
 
 It may be interesting if we say something at this point of 
 the Ilbert de Lacy, of whom we have just made mention, and 
 who is entitled to notice, as being the first Lord of the Manor 
 of Morley, of whom we have any record. He was one of the 
 Norman adventurers who followed the standard of the Con¬ 
 queror to the Battle of Hastings. After the subjugation of 
 the kingdom, William bestowed the lands of the Saxons on 
 the chiefs of his army. The share of Ilbert de Lacy, was 
 very considerable ; he had in the West Riding of Yorkshire 
 
16 
 
 150 manors. The Wapentake of Morley alone, contained 
 25 towns belonging to him. He instituted what is known as 
 the Honour of Pontefract, and was created Baron of that place 
 in 1070 having been in possession of this estate three years. 
 He built the castle of Pontefract for his residence. He died in 
 the early part of the reign of William Bufus and left two sons, 
 Robert and Hugh ; of the former we shall have occasion to 
 speak hereafter. 
 
 Soon after property had been distributed by the Conqueror, 
 agriculture and population began to increase rapidly, until the 
 incursions of the Scots in the reign of Edward the Second 
 changed the scene. It is said that, “ the residence of those 
 barbarians for a whole winter at Morley, in the years 
 1322-3 was the greatest curse the district ever knew,” and 
 at this time the village witnessed its period of greatest 
 depression. 
 
 Morley, two centuries ago, was a miserable straggling vil¬ 
 lage. The homes of the people, with few exceptions were mere 
 hovels, as the following description of one of them (only pulled 
 down a short time ago and known for more than a century as 
 “ Slack’s cottage”) will shew. Scatcherd thus describes 
 it:—“ This singular building is an ancient lath and plaster 
 or ‘ post and pan ’ cottage. The shaft of the chimney 
 immensely large, with a top of sticks and bindings, being, 
 doubtless a funnel for the smoke, constructed at an after 
 period, displays the antiquity of the dwelling. But the fire¬ 
 place is the most surprising, it is eleven feet ten inches wide ; 
 five feet two inches deep ; and five feet five inches high. In 
 the centre of this space, no doubt, in ancient times, was the 
 skeleton of a rude range ; and here around a fire, partly 
 perhaps of coal, but principally of wood, did the ancestors of 
 Slack, sit plaiting their straw hats by the light of the chimney 
 in the day-time.” The furniture in these dwellings of our 
 ancestors was in keeping with the building. Straw was the 
 material of the bed, from which came the phrase, once 
 
17 
 
 common in Morley and the neighbourhood —“ My wife is in 
 the straw,” applying to her confinement. Logs of wood, and 
 three legged stools, were used as seats, whilst the table was 
 of the rudest description, and with a “kist ” in one comer 
 of the room, for the hoarding of any article esteemed valuable; 
 these constituted the principal articles of furniture. 
 
 Around these homes of our ancestors, stretched the moor¬ 
 land, unreclaimed by the plough or the spade; and fine 
 woods, where, 
 
 “ Thick as a forest grew the towering trees.” 
 
 Here and there on the hills and in the valleys, were a few 
 houses, of a somewhat better class, with small gardens 
 attached to them, and generally a patch of land sufficient 
 to maintain a cow; these were occupied by the “maister 
 clothiers” as they were called ; for the chief employment 
 of the population, both of Morley and the neighbourhood was 
 the making of cloth. Nearly every house had its loom and 
 spinning wheel, for the entire manufacture was earned on 
 by hand labour. 
 
 The operatives in those days, were poor and ignorant, and 
 we may reasonably conclude, that no sign of the present 
 prosperity of our trade, gleamed through the darkness of 
 that time. The mills, those busy hives of industry, now 
 standing on almost every hill and in every valley, were all 
 asleep in the future, No rumbling wheels, nor powerful 
 steam engines, nor dense clouds of smoke, darkening the sky 
 at noon-day, were heard or seen. No complicated machines 
 of ingenious construction and wondrous adaptability, able to 
 do the work of men, without hands or feet, then existed. 
 But already in these unlettered ancestors of ours, the germ 
 of our present manufacturing prosperity was hidden. The 
 Morley of the present day, was to grow out of this crude 
 and apparently unproductive period. Our forefathers were 
 to lay the foundation of a manufacture, that, in course of 
 
18 
 
 time, should result in the production of fabrics, the fame of 
 which should reach to the very ends of the earth, and that 
 foundation was laid by them. 
 
 The population of Morley at the time of which we are 
 writing, was small, probably not exceeding four or five 
 hundred persons. No record is preserved of the number of 
 the population, previous to the year 1800, but from the seven 
 official returns of the census, the increase in the population 
 of Morley, from that time to the year 1861, may be thus 
 exhibited:— 
 
 The number of inhabitants in 1801 amounted to 
 
 2108 
 
 „ „ 1811 
 
 »> 
 
 2457 
 
 „ „ 1821 
 
 »> 
 
 3031 
 
 „ „ 1831 
 
 
 3819 
 
 „ „ 1841 
 
 
 4087 
 
 „ „ 1851 
 
 >» 
 
 4821 
 
 „ „ 1861 
 
 »» 
 
 6840 
 
 Since the last census the population has very greatly increased, and 
 may now he computed at 8000. 
 
 In 1801, the Village contained 422 houses, 442 families, 
 45 persons engaged in agriculture, and 397 in trade. In 
 1861, the number of houses had increased to 1464. In 1765 
 its poor rate at sixpence in the pound, amounted to £83 10s.; 
 in 1865, at one shilling in the pound, to £1329 13s. In 
 1815, the amount of property assessed to the poor rate was 
 £5,964 ; in 1865, £26,589, on an area of 2698 acres. 
 
 The earliest records belonging to “ Our Village ” date from 
 a Town’s Book in my possession, which has on the back 
 of it, “ Morley Town’s Book, 1749.” The first entry is as 
 follows;— “ A Catalogue of the names of such persons w eh 
 has served the office of the Constable in the township of Mor¬ 
 ley.”—Similar Catalogues follow, of persons who served the 
 offices of Churchwarden, Overseers of the Poor, and Surveyors 
 of the Highways, from the same time, and all these lists are 
 continued, in the same book, down to the year 1817. We 
 shall print these Catalogues in the Appendix, believing they 
 
19 
 
 will be interesting, especially to those who can trace in them, 
 the names of their ancestors. After these Catalogues, the 
 next entry is of a financial character :— 
 
 “ October 4th, 1752. Accounted then with Sami. Webster, Con¬ 
 stable for the year last past; and he has reed, by one Assessment 
 £10 15s. 3id. ; and he has disburst as appears by the particulars of 
 his accts. £9 17s. Id.: remains due to the town 18s. 2jd. Paid the 
 same time to Jos. Hague 9s. lljd. and paid into Samuel Reyner 
 hands 8s. 2jd. of wch- 8s. Id. was paid for mending Clock and Candles, 
 also ljd. for Oyl. Allowed by us, Thos. Hopkins, Saml. Reyner, 
 Jos. Rayner, Jos. Websteb.” 
 
 From other entries, we leam what was the income and ex¬ 
 penditure of the various officers of the township, during the 
 latter half of the last century. We extract the following, as 
 specimens:— 
 
 “ April 8th, 1751. Accounted then with John Rayner Church¬ 
 warden, for the year last past, and he has reed, by One assessment 
 £15 18s. 8Jd. and he has disburst £15 10s. 5Jd: due to the Town 
 8s. 3d. Allowed by us, Geo. Hodgshon, S. Reyner, John Rayner.” 
 
 “ June 8th, 1756. Accounted then with S. Clark, Overseer of the 
 Poor, and he has rec d - by 2 Assessments £87 Is. 8d. rec d . also of 
 the preceding officer £7 Is. 3s. also Hannah Harris Rent, 10s. total 
 £94 12s. lid. Disburst £84 15s 2,}d. remain due to the Town 
 £9 17s 8Jd. wch- was Disposed of as under, (to wit) By Gates and 
 Stoops at the Parson’s house £4 19s. 2d., for clothing John Worse- 
 man £2 2s. 8d., for Law Charges Concerning Neepshay lane 16s. 4d., 
 Paid to Mr. Scatcherd Concerning Repairs of the Chappell £1 18s. 7d. 
 spent the same time Is. 2£d. Allowed by us, Saml. Scatcherd, Jun. 
 Wu. Lister, John Hemsworth.” 
 
 “ April 23rd, 1753. Accounted then with James Holstead and 
 Saml. Fozzard, Surveyors of the Highways, for the year last past, and 
 they have recd. by One Assessment and Land Tax, £14 4s. 5d. Dis¬ 
 burst £14 Is. 9d. Rests due to the Town 2s. 8d. of wch 2s. 6d. was 
 paid to Saml. Clark and 2d. for Tobacko. Allowed by us, Saml. 
 Scatcherd, Wm. Lister, Nathl. Webster, Saml. Reyner.” 
 
 The following Extracts from the Disbursements of the Con¬ 
 stable for the year 1781 are curious, and give us some idea, 
 
20 
 
 of what was considered as Town’s business, in the days of our 
 forefathers ; and also furnish items, that to many in the 
 
 present day, will be quite unintelligible :— 
 
 £ s. d. 
 
 Jany. 6th, Journey to Wakefield for Crowner ..010 
 
 ,, 7th, Funeral Expenses, W. Balmforth . 0 4 0 
 
 ,, 12th, Melitiah Bill Paid. _ 0 5 0 
 
 Fehy. 25th, Two Passingers .. .. . _ 006 
 
 April 6th, Bridg Money .7 24 
 
 ,, 16th, Tohacko and Candles .0 0 7 
 
 ,, 28th, Going a Whindow Peeping •• 0 5 0 
 
 June 1st, An Inquest at Batley .0 12 6 
 
 Sep. 21st, Ben Fosterd for Blowing the Horn .. .. 0 0 6 
 
 Nov. 5th, Nath 1 Slack for Binging. 0 1 0 
 
 „ 25th, Paid for Winding the klock up .. .. „ 0 13 1 
 
 Dec. 7th, The Chapil Klock Bands .0 8 6 
 
 A brief explanation of some of these items, may be acceptable 
 to our readers. 
 
 The “ Melitiah Bill ” was, for expenses incurred in the 
 allotting of men for the Militia, then organized throughout 
 the country, and we find that for several years about this time, 
 a number of our villagers were ballotted for that body. In 
 1782, the following persons were thus called upon to serve 
 their country, viz.:—John Smith, staymaker ; John Wester- 
 man, breeches maker; Benjamin Ellis, son of Moses Ellis, 
 Wm. Scatcherd, and John Jackson, clothiers; and in 1785 
 the honour fell upon, John Scott clothier, Abm. Fittan, 
 clothier, Sami. Asquith, comber, Wm. Smith, clothier, and Jonas 
 Hartley, smith. All these found or hired substitutes, but it is 
 recorded, and to his credit we mention it here, that on the 12th 
 of May 1767, “William Stuart was allotted and served for 
 himself.” 
 
 The “Two Passingers” to whom sixpence was given, were per¬ 
 sons passing through the Town, as Paupers, and this sum was 
 given, to enable them to reach the next village. The “ Bridg 
 Money ” was the proportion levied upon Morley, by the 
 County Magistrates, for the repairs of the bridges throughout 
 
21 
 
 the Riding. The next item, “ Tobacko and Candles ” is more 
 easily understood, for whilst the latter would be indispensible, 
 the former would doubtless often prove a soporific in the dis¬ 
 cussion of Town’s affairs in these troublous times. 
 
 The wars in which our country was engaged, during the 
 latter half of the last century, made the calling out of the 
 Militia necessary, and much disaffection was evinced by 
 the operatives, in consequence of the scarcity of labour. The 
 government of that day, therefore, compelled every township 
 to take precautionary measures against any outbreak at home, 
 and “ Whindow Peeping ” came into vogue. The persons 
 appointed to this office were required to go every night after 
 dark to look into the windows of the villagers, that the 
 assembling together of numbers to discuss the state of public 
 affairs, might be prevented. How far it answered the purpose 
 intended we are not in a position to say. 
 
 The custom of “ Blowing the Horn ” was very common at 
 this time, and by it the apprentices and labourers were 
 aroused at five o’clock in the morning in summer, and at six 
 in winter, and it is said that “ so shrill were its blasts, that no 
 excuse was allowed to the lazy on the plea of not having 
 heard it.” 
 
 The “ Ringing of the Bell ” on Guy Fawkes’ day, was then 
 practised; but we may mention, that, it was customai-y at 
 that time, to ring it on the occasion of every town’s meeting. 
 
 In speaking of the people generally who lived in our village 
 at the time of which we are writing, we may remark, that 
 they partook a good deal of the character of the locality. 
 They were bred amongst the hills and wild scenery around 
 their homes, and this, with their diet of oatmeal porridge, of 
 which they were not sparing, made them a much stronger 
 race than the present. A word here as to the diet of the people 
 in Morley a century ago. In addition to the porridge named, 
 oaten-cake was in every house suspended across the lines of 
 the “creels” under the ceiling. A regiment of soldiers 
 
 c 
 
22 
 
 raised in these parts at that time, took the name of the 
 “ Oaten-cake lads; ” assuming as their badge an oaten-cake, 
 which was placed for the purpose of attraction on the point 
 of the recruiting sergeant’s sword. Scatcherd says, that, 
 “ united in groups of three or four together at Leeds’ winter 
 fair, they would purchase an ox, and having made partition 
 of it, they salted and hung the pieces for their winter food. 
 The broth and ‘ rashers ’ which these afforded, with oat¬ 
 cakes, were a perpetual repast.” 
 
 Our villagers were certainly rough and uncouth; but 
 underneath this rough exterior there was much that was 
 commendable. Rugged nobility and manliness were dis¬ 
 tinguishing features in their character, if we may judge from 
 our historian’s opinion. He says :—“ The old natives though 
 inelegant were a considerate race of men, whose general 
 leading maxim was ‘to do to others as they would have others 
 to do to them.’ They neither envied a neighbour’s prosperity, 
 nor rejoiced in his misfortunes.” From what we can learn, 
 the people who lived here a century ago, were full of broad 
 humour, generosity and hard work. From morning till night, 
 it is said that, “ there might he heard the noise of looms and 
 shuttles, all over the hills and valleys, mingled with the merry 
 songs of the weavers.” 
 
 As to the morality of some of our villagers, in later times, 
 we cannot speak so highly, for we find that in August 1815, 
 the attention of the local authorities was called “ to the many 
 felonies, misdemeanors, and mischiefs committed and done in 
 the township.” A public meeting was held, and passed 
 several important resolutions for the prosecution and punish¬ 
 ment of future offendors, and it was agreed “ that the costs of 
 such prosecution and punishment should be paid out of the 
 poor rates.” Notwithstanding these precautionary measures, 
 depredations still continued to be made, and some of the 
 villagers resorted to other expedients, as will be seen from 
 the following handbill, a copy of which I have before me, “ To 
 
23 
 
 the Public at large. Notice is hereby given, that a Man 
 Trap, Fierce Dogs and Loaded Guns are kept upon the 
 premises of Norrison Scatcherd, Esq., who will not be 
 answerable for consequences happening to Persons trespassing 
 upon his Gardens and Grounds at unreasonable hours, after 
 this public warning which he has given. Morley, August 
 10th, 1818.” 
 
 A Town’s Meeting was also held on the First day of 
 December 1817, called purposely “ to take into consideration 
 the alarming state of the Township of Morley, respecting 
 Depredators assembling together in different parts of the 
 Town, insulting the inhabitants and travellers, peaceably 
 passing on the public roads, and awfully profaning the 
 Sabbath Day.” It was unanimously resolved; First, that 
 all Parents, Masters and heads of families he requested to 
 attend some place of Public Worship and take with them all 
 their families, or otherwise put them under the Government 
 of the Committee and Teachers of the Sabbath Day Schools, 
 in order to prevent the awful profanation of the Sabbath Day. 
 Second, that the Churchwarden, Constable and his Deputy, 
 shall call to their assistance twenty persons to assist them 
 to patrol the Township, in the morning, at noon, and in the 
 evening; and at such other times in the week-days as may 
 lead to the discovery of all persons found in a disorderly state. 
 Third, that all persons found wandering in the fields, or 
 behaving disorderly in any part of the Township, their names 
 will he taken and laid before a Magistrate and punished as 
 the Law directs, for Sabbath breaking or any other mis¬ 
 demeanour. Fourth, that if the above means prove ineffectual 
 to restrain youths from breaking the Sabbath, and from 
 collecting in companies in any part of the Township, to 
 disturb the peace of any person or family in their Houses, or 
 going to or returning from any place of Worship, the 
 principal Inhabitants of this Township have unitedly come to 
 the resolution to withhold employment, not only from the 
 
24 
 
 youths so found; but from all the Family in the house in 
 which such disorderly persons reside.” A second entry is as 
 follows : “ These resolutions have been laid before the Magis¬ 
 trates ; they have approved the same, and further say, that 
 relief will be withheld from all applicants who neglect attending 
 Places of Worship, or do not send their children to the 
 Sabbath Day School. We whose names are hereunto sub¬ 
 scribed approve the aforesaid resolutions, and are determined 
 to act upon them. N. Scatcherd, John Webster and Sons, 
 Crowther and Hudson, John Bradley, Joseph Dixon, Nathl. 
 Dickenson ” and some fifty other names. For a time these 
 measures had the necessary effect; hut in Feb. 1834, the 
 following requisition was presented to the Constable ;—“We 
 whose names are hereto subscribed, request that you will call 
 a meeting to be holden at Town’s School, to take into 
 consideration the alarming state of the Township, and then 
 and there to devise such plans as may be deemed most 
 conducive to its tranquillization.” It is not on record what 
 measures were adopted on that occasion ; but, thanks to the 
 provision of Government, in supplying us at the present day 
 with public protectors of person and property ; and also to 
 the spread of good manners amongst our youths ; the occasion 
 for similar meetings and precautionary measures has passed 
 away. 
 
 It has been truly remarked “ that in order to form a just 
 estimate of the character of any people, it is absolutely 
 necessary to investigate the sports and pastimes most 
 generally prevalent amongst them. Other circumstances may 
 place men at different times, in different points of view ; but 
 when we follow them into their retirement, where no disguise 
 is necessary, we are most likely to see them in their true 
 state and may best judge of their natural dispositions.” 
 Am ongst, those practices and observances which are rapidly 
 changing in these our days, are the “ keeping of holidays ” 
 which, half a century or more ago, were thought of and 
 talked of, all the year round by our villagers. 
 
25 
 
 We intend to glance in another part of this work at the vaii- 
 ous customs and amusements common in Morley in olden times 
 and some of these were rough and uncouth enough, but they 
 answered the purpose for which they were intended, viz:— 
 a release from labour and “ the flinging every now and then 
 of a white stone into the chalice of their days.” While we 
 would not wish to extol everything connected with these old 
 customs, still we think that, with respect to the question of 
 amusement, we may gather a few hints worth the remembering. 
 To our mind, the holidays of our villagers seem passing away 
 from them, or so changing their character, that they do not 
 give the same amount of pleasure as formerly. Business 
 has now so laid hold of our youth, and competition is carried 
 to such an extreme, that only a small available margin of 
 leisure is left for recreation. 
 
 Any description of ojir ancient villagers would be incomplete, 
 without some reference to the peculiarities of their dialect. 
 Their vocabulary had in it much of the Saxon, but also a 
 considerable number of words, which appear to have been 
 mere household expressions. Some of these words have be¬ 
 come nearly obsolete, as for instance, the following: “To 
 Bannel’’ was to ruffle the hair ; as when a boy was rannelled, he 
 was seized by his comrades, and his hair was by them so ruffled 
 that the head appeared like a mop. “He has gotten t’fever 
 lurden,” was a common expression, and meant that the person 
 alluded to had got the lazy fever. Dr. Andrew Boorde, 
 recommends the following cure for this complaint;—“There 
 is nothing so good for the fever lurden as unguentum 
 baculinum ; that is to to say,—Take a sticke, or wand, of a 
 yarde of length or more, and let it be as great as a man’s 
 finger, and with it anoynt the back and the shoulders well, 
 mornying and evenying, and do this twenty-one dayes; and if 
 this fever will not be holpen in that tyme, let them beware of 
 waggynge on the gallowes ; and whyles they do take theyr 
 medicine, put no lubberwort into their pottage.” “ Aht o' 
 
26 
 
 t' gaate" for “out of the way”; “All nowt” for “all 
 nothing ” ; “ Be'nah ” for “ by this time ” ; “ Cap't ” for 
 “ surprised ” ; “ Balm i’t' mahth ” for “ dejected ” ; Elbow 
 greeas” for “ labour with the arms”; “Big” for “lay”; 
 these may he taken as specimens of hundreds of words and 
 phrases in daily use at present, as they have been for many 
 generations. A good story is told of a young clergyman, who 
 having been in the North of England only a short time, was 
 suddenly pulled down in his soarings of fancy ;—“ My friend,” 
 he said to a poor weaver, to whose bedside he had been 
 summoned—“ I fear I must address you in the language 
 that was addressed to King Hezekiah, ‘ Set thine house in 
 order ; for thou shalt die and not live “ Well ” was the 
 man’s reply, as he rose languidly on his elbow, and pointed 
 with his finger, “I think its awl reight, but for a brick at’s aht 
 behind that cubbard.” 
 
 A few words, on the political, religious, and physical aspects 
 of Morley, past and present, will bring this introductory 
 chapter to a close. We have always had in Morley, keen and 
 zealous politicians, but so far as parties are concerned, we 
 may observe, that while every party has had its adherents— 
 Chartists, Liberals, Liberal Conservatives, and Tories, of 
 every shade—The Liberal or Whig party has for a considerable 
 time had the preponderance in numbers. The strength of 
 parties, as shewn by the votes of the Morley freeholders at the 
 election of 1741, was nearly equal. I find that the following 
 persons recorded their votes at York, on that occasion. The 
 Candidates were Cholmly Turner and George Fox, Esqrs., 
 and the initials at the end of the name, shew for whom the 
 vote was given. 
 
 Aldred, Timothy 
 
 T. 
 
 Harrison. John 
 
 T. 
 
 Atkinson, Eleazer 
 
 P. 
 
 Hall, Joseph 
 
 F. 
 
 Cuttle, Stephen 
 
 F. 
 
 Hague, Joseph 
 
 T. 
 
 Dawson, John Esq. 
 
 T. 
 
 Lister, William 
 
 F. 
 
 Dixon, Joseph 
 
 F. 
 
 Scatcherd, Sami. 
 
 T. 
 
27 
 
 Ellis, John T. Shepley, Jeremiah F. 
 
 Fox, William T. Webster, Samuel T. 
 
 Part}' feeling had changed in 1807, when, as we have been in¬ 
 formed, great interest was taken by our villagers, in the noted 
 election, between Milton, Lascelles, and Wilberforce. Num¬ 
 bers walked and rode from Morley to York, to take part in the 
 proceedings of that election ; and great rejoicing was manifested 
 at the result The following is a list of the Morley voters, 
 who went to York during the seven days that the poll was 
 kept open, and who recorded their votes, as shewn below, 
 
 w. L. M. 
 
 Briggs, Benjamin, Clothier . . . . 1 
 
 Bradley, James, do. 1 
 
 Bradley, Abm., do. .. 1 
 
 Brook, Benjamin, do. 1 
 
 Buttrey, John, Worsted Manufacturer .. 11 
 
 Butterworth, John, Clothier ... 1 
 
 Clark, Benjamin, Yeoman .. .. 1 
 
 Clark, William, Husbandman ... .. 1 
 
 Clark, Thomas, Clothier .. „ 1 
 
 Crowther, Isaac, W'oollen Manufacturer 1 
 
 Crowther, John, Clothier ... 1 
 
 Cockran, John, Schoolmaster ..... 1 
 
 Dixon, Joseph, Husbandman .. .. 1 
 
 Dixon, Joseph, Woolstapler . . . . 11 
 
 Dixon, William, Clothier ... ..11 
 
 Dean, David, Staymaker .. .. 1 
 
 Ellis, Thomas, Clothier .. .. 1 
 
 Ellis, Bobert, Butcher „ .. 1 
 
 Ellis, Samuel, Yeoman .. ... 1 1 
 
 Fisher, John, do. .... 1 
 
 Field, George, Surgeon ..11 
 
 Hemsworth, Arthur, Weaver .. .. 1 
 
 Hemsworth, Benjamin, Husbandman ... 1 
 
 Hague, James, Clothier ... ... 1 
 
 Hartley, John, Millwright ._ ... 1 
 
 Jackson, John, Clothier _ 1 
 
 Lowcock, John, do. — ... 1 
 
 Lister John, Yeoman . . .. 1 
 
28 
 
 W. L. 11. 
 
 Mitchell, John, Clothmaker .. .. 1 
 
 Milner, Christopher, Clothier .. .. 1 
 
 Newsham, Joseph, do. .. .. 1 
 
 Oates, William, do. .. .. 1 
 
 Rhodes, Joseph, Joiner .. . . 1 
 
 Stockwell George, Shopkeeper .. .. 1 1 
 
 Story, Christopher, Glazier .. .. 1 
 
 Scott, David, Cordwainer ..... 1 
 
 Scott, John, do. ... 1 
 
 Sheard, Michael, Innkeeper .. .. 1 1 
 
 Smith, John, Staymaker, .. .. 1 
 
 Stell, George, Clothier _ 1 
 
 Scatcherd, William, Labourer .. .. 1 
 
 Scatcherd, Watson, Gentleman .. ._ 1 
 
 Salt, Daniel, Drysalter .. .. 1 
 
 Tolson, John, Carpenter .. .. 1 
 
 Tempest, William, Clothier, .. .. 1 
 
 Theaker, Benjamin, do. ... ... I 
 
 Watson, Joseph, do. .. .. 1 
 
 Watson, Isaac, do. .. .. 1 
 
 Wormald, John Gentleman .. 1 
 
 Weatherill, John, Farmer .. .. 1 
 
 Whitley, S. H., Husbandman ... ..11 
 
 Webster, John, Clothier ... .. 1 1 
 
 Webster, John, Glue maker, .. ..11 
 
 Webster, Elias, Clothier .. .. 1 
 
 Totals. Wilberforce 10 votes. Lascelles 8 votes, Milton 46 votes. 
 
 Every contested election since that time has been watched 
 with interest, by the partisans of the respective candidates in 
 Morley, and as indicative of the state of parties at the present 
 time, we may notice that at the general election of 1865, the 
 following votes were registered by the electors of Morley, for 
 the two Liberal Candidates ;—Milton 88 votes and Beaumont 
 79 votes ; and for the Conservative candidates as follows:— 
 Stanhope 45 votes, Denison 46 votes. We are glad to be able 
 to place on record, that these differences of political opinion, 
 are not, (as in some large towns) carried so far, as to make 
 them the pivots, on which the qualifications of any one nomi- 
 
29 
 
 nated for a public office, such as member of the Local Board, 
 are made to turn. 
 
 On the great political questions that have from time to time 
 arisen, an expression of feeling has generally been given by 
 the people of this place ; in proof of this we might allude 
 to meetings and lectures held at various times, for the 
 discussion of political matters ; but we shall content ourselves 
 with noticing the question of Corn Laws. At the time of this 
 agitation, we find, a meeting was held in Jany., 1843, in the 
 Old Chapel, when Mr. John Hollings was in the chair. It is 
 said that this meeting was the most numerous and orderly 
 of any political meeting ever held in Morley. Mr. Greig of 
 Leeds and others addressed the meeting. It is also reported, 
 that the Rev. G. D. Miller was appealed to, for permission to 
 hold the meeting in the National School-room, but he refused 
 the people the use of it, on the ground that it was consecrated. 
 During several years, public meetings were held and lectures 
 given, until the question was finally settled by the repeal of 
 the obnoxious impost. 
 
 On public occasions, when the loyalty of our villagers has 
 been appealed to, political differences have been forgotten, 
 and all classes have worked harmoniously together. In 1820, 
 on the occasion of the trial of Queen Caroline, it is said that 
 “ in Morley there was an uncommon burst of rejoicing at the 
 triumph of the Queen.” Fat sheep were roasted whole with 
 which to regale the poor. The Band paraded the streets; 
 the chapel bell rang merrily, and the women assembled in 
 various places to partake of their favourite beverage—tea. 
 Peace, harmony and joy everywhere prevailed, and the village 
 was generally and brilliantly illuminated in the evening. On 
 the 28th of June 1838, the coronation of her present Majesty, 
 Queen Victoria, was celebrated with great rejoicing in Morley. 
 “ Two hundred and fifty respectable married females had tea 
 in St. Peter’s School-room, and 125 in the Townend National 
 School. The children walked in procession and were presented 
 
 D 
 
30 
 
 with medals and regaled with buns and tea. N. Scatcherd,Esq., 
 entertained forty old women with tea, at the Nelson’s Arms, 
 where they sung ‘ God save the Queen ’ over a glass of punch, 
 and answered some queries about the “olden times.” In 1856, 
 on the termination of the war with Russia, the inhabitants of 
 Morley, desirous of showing their appreciation of the glorious 
 achievements of our gallant countrymen, and Allies, in the 
 great struggle against Russian despotism, appointed a com¬ 
 mittee to carry out their wishes. This body having received 
 subscriptions amounting to more than £100—made early and 
 judicious arrangements for the due observance of the day ; and 
 their efforts being warmly seconded by their fellow-townsmen, 
 the result was a most satisfactory demonstration. Early in 
 the morning the whole village was gaily decorated with flags 
 and banners, suspended in front of houses, shops, mills, and 
 public buildings ; and about noon, business was entirely sus¬ 
 pended for the day. At one o’clock, p.m., a long and imposing 
 procession was formed in the following order :—Gentlemen of 
 the village on horseback; the Morley brass band ; the inhabi¬ 
 tants of the village, walking; the committee of management; 
 the Churwell band; Sunday scholars and teachers of the 
 Church, Old Chapel, Wesleyan, Rehoboth, Primitive Metho¬ 
 dist, Zion, and Wesleyan Reform schools—the scholars 
 walking four a-breast, and each school being preceded by its 
 banner. The scholars in the procession numbered 1600, and 
 the teachers about 260. Having marched to the Town-end, 
 the scholars were assembled in a field belonging to Mr. Hep- 
 worth, surgeon, and sung the National Anthem ; after which 
 they filed off to their respective School-rooms, where they 
 were regaled with tea and buns. One of the bands proceeded to 
 the National School, Town-end, where an excellent and sub¬ 
 stantial dinner was provided gratuitously for 150 aged men, 
 and heartily enjoyed ; and the other band marched to the New 
 School, Troy-hill, where 200 aged women and widows were 
 entertained to a liberal and substantial tea. At nine o’clock 
 
31 
 
 there was a grand pyrotechnic display at Bank Top, in a field 
 belonging to Mr. Cowburn ; and about the same time the 
 illumination commenced in all parts of the village. Gas 
 devices and transparencies were numerous; whilst candle 
 illuminations or decorated windows abounded everywhere ; in 
 fact the illumination was almost universal, and most successful. 
 To those who took part in the management, as well as the 
 thousands of spectators, the proceedings gave unbounded 
 satisfaction, and passed off without any accident to mar the 
 enjoyment of the day; and it is but right to add, that not one 
 farthing of the money subscribed was appropriated to the 
 purchase of intoxicating drinks. Still more recently, on the 
 occasion of the marriage of the Prince of Wales, the day was 
 observed as a holiday. A grand procession of all the Sunday 
 School children took place ; dinner and tea were provided for 
 several hundreds of poor people ; music and mirth enlivened 
 the proceedings, and the day was spent in a manner long to 
 he remembered. 
 
 In the matter of religion, nearly all creeds have repre¬ 
 sentatives. We have Churchmen, Wesleyans, Independents, 
 Primitive Methodists, Wesleyan Reformers, Baptists, Quakers 
 and a few Roman Catholics. Most of these have found a 
 “ local habitation ” in Morley, within the last one hundred 
 years, for in 1760 the Presbyterian chapel was the only place 
 for worship in the village. The presence amongst us, 
 of so many sects, is in some respects a good, and in others, 
 a had feature of the times. It is good in so far as it shows, 
 how every creed is tolerated; and bad, because it is a sign 
 of much difference of opinion, which, has frequently caused 
 dissension and ill feeling. If the description which is given 
 by Scatcherd, as to the religious aspect of Morley a century 
 ago, be correct, then we have reason to deplore the existence 
 of so many religious bodies. He says :—“ as to the demeanour 
 of our villagers, in those times, as respecting religion, it was 
 natural, unaffected and lowly. Their’s was a religion without 
 
32 
 
 cant, ostentation and grimace. It interfered not with social 
 and family duties on the one hand, nor with innocent recre¬ 
 ations and healthy sports on the other. It fostered no pride— 
 it excited no disgust—it excluded none of the kindliest feelings 
 of humanity. But when the apple of discord was thrown, by 
 the introduction of the “ five points,” when a shorter road to 
 heaven was proclaimed than our Puritan pastors ever knew ; 
 then it was, the common bond of village union became broken. 
 Henceforth Sects and Meeting Houses multiplied, each hav¬ 
 ing its little confined pale around it ; a neighbourly t and 
 social intercourse was superseded by disputatious wrang¬ 
 ling—and morality and patriotism by polemical controversy.” 
 
 The following Table will shew the accommodation provided 
 at present, by the various religious denominations in the 
 village, and also, the number of Day and Sunday Scholars, 
 connected with each place. 
 
 Name of Place. 
 
 Denomination. 
 
 Date of 
 Formation 
 of Church. 
 
 No. of 
 Sittings. 
 
 Sunday 
 
 Scholars. 
 
 Day 
 
 Scholars. 
 
 St. Peter’s Church 
 
 Anglican 
 
 1830 
 
 1000 
 
 130 
 
 115 
 
 National School 
 
 Do. 
 
 1865 
 
 400 
 
 54 
 
 110 
 
 Wesleyan Chapel 
 
 Wesleyan Methodists 
 
 1770 
 
 1000 
 
 456 
 
 429 
 
 Bethel Chapel 
 
 Free Church 
 
 1856 
 
 400 
 
 130 
 
 — 
 
 Ebenezer Chapel 
 
 Primitive Methodists 
 
 1835 
 
 450 
 
 170 
 
 — 
 
 Behoboth Chapel 
 
 Independent 
 
 1765 
 
 700 
 
 280 
 
 60 
 
 Old ChapeJ 
 
 Do. 
 
 1650 
 
 460 
 
 266 
 
 — 
 
 Zion Chapel 
 
 Do. 
 
 1804 
 
 500 
 
 210 
 
 — 
 
 Scatcherd, gives us the following statistics with respect to the re¬ 
 ligious opinions of the inhabitants of Morley, in 1826. “ There 
 
 are about 10 Church people;—Independents 860;—Methodists 
 579;—Ranters of the Methodist Class, 60;—Anabaptists, 
 perhaps 40 ;—Presbyterians, number unknown, and Catholic 1. 
 
 With respect to the physical aspect of “ Our Village,” we may 
 say that, the scenery around Morley is romantic and pleasing; 
 some parts are more attractive than others, and allow me to 
 
33 
 
 name; Victoria road, looking over the village ; the Railway 
 bridge in Scatcherd’s lane ; and the graveyard of the Old 
 Chapel, as specimens of some of the various localities, from 
 which the eye can obtain glimpses of truly rural scenery. 
 Our historian says: “respecting Morley in a local and 
 picturesque view, I cannot but observe it excels any village 
 hereabouts ; and much more any village that I have noticed 
 in the dull uniform scenery of the Midland Counties, and I 
 am not very singular in my opinion, for many of our visitors 
 from the South, and some settlers from flat countries, are 
 much pleased with the picturesque, if not romantic beauties of 
 Morley—its hills and valleys—its woods and waters—its fine 
 prospects and diversified walks—its pure air and excellent 
 springs—the fine country around it, and convenient distance 
 of the market town.” On the score of public walks, our 
 villagers, now as then, have no reason to complain, for there 
 are still in and about Morley, some of the finest walks that 
 can be found in the district. We would suggest to our 
 working men, after the labours of the day on a summer’s 
 evening, to stroll with their wives and sweethearts up 
 “ Scatcherd’s lane,” across the fields into “Bruntclifle lane 
 round by Bruntclifle and Cross Hall; over the fields, and 
 down “ Field lane.” into the village. There are many other 
 similarly healthful walks, and we are glad to see, that the 
 inhabitants generally, frequent them in summer, in preference 
 to lounging idly about the streets. 
 
 Morley has not in the past possessed a reputation for clean¬ 
 liness, but, like most other rising places, is now striving to 
 cleanse, enlighten and improve itself in various ways. Sana¬ 
 tory ideas have reached us, and if the present governing 
 power in “ Our Village,” carry out the provisions of the Act 
 under which they hold office, Morley ought to become a 
 most cleanly, orderly, and in fact, a model village. Amongst 
 the improvements already effected by the Local Board, we 
 may mention the lighting of the streets with gas, the 
 
34 
 
 construction of a thorough main drainage, the naming of the 
 streets, the removal of nuisances, that formed, far from 
 pleasing specimens of street architecture a few years ago, and 
 the securing of proper ventilation to all newly erected 
 dwelling-houses. And we have in prospect the blessing of 
 a constant and abundant supply of good water. We trust 
 that our Local Board will, well and wisely use their power 
 and that every year will see some improvement in the v illag e. 
 
 Having made these preliminary observations on some points 
 which scarcely come within the general plan of the work, we 
 shall proceed to the task we have set before us. Though 
 materials enough are at hand to make a pleasantly diversified 
 history of “Our Village.” we are fully impressed with the 
 responsibility and difficulty of putting the numerous historic 
 incidents into a readable and profitable form. Our “Rambles,” 
 we anticipate, will necessarily bring out: firstly, the General 
 History of the place, from the earliest times of which we 
 have any record, to the present; secondly, the Domestic 
 History, by notices of the various dwellings of its inhabitants 
 with descriptions of manners and customs ; thirdly, the 
 Ecclesiastical History, and in this will be found an account 
 of the Old Chapel, as well as the origin, progress and present 
 position of the various religious bodies ; fourthly, In the 
 Literary History, notices of the various institutions in the 
 place, with some sketches of character; lastly, the Commercial 
 History, and of this, we shall give as correct an account as 
 possible, of the rise, progress and present position of the 
 Woollen Manufacture carried on here for centuries, and 
 which forms certainly, a very prominent feature in the 
 history of Morley. 
 
RAMBLE I. 
 
 “What is a chnrch ? Let truth and reason speak 
 They would reply,—‘ The faithful and the meek ; 
 
 From Christian folds, the one selected race, 
 
 Of all professions and in every place.’ ” crabbe. 
 
 “ The way to preserve the peace of the church is to preserve 
 the purity of it.” Henry. 
 
 ‘‘Let your recreation be manly, moderate, reasonable and 
 lawful. The use of recreation is to strengthen your labour and 
 sweeten your rest.’’ anon. 
 
 Without further introduction, we purpose reader, to take you 
 through the mazy windings of hill and dale, which constitute 
 the highways and hyways of “ Our Village.” 
 
 We will at once commence our rambles at “ Saint Peter’s 
 Church,” (1*) which is situated at the out-skirt of the village 
 near the high road leading from Huddersfield, distant eleven 
 miles, to Leeds, distant some four miles. As a specimen of 
 an English country church, it is one of which we feel proud. 
 It presents no marks of high antiquity. It is a neat and 
 unpretending modem Gothic structure, in imitation of the 
 style of architecture which prevailed at the latter end of the 
 reign of Henry III, The building is a handsome one, and 
 the tower, which is surmounted with a beautiful spire, shooting 
 upwards to a great height, and crowned with a cross and dove, 
 forms a pleasing object in the landscape for many miles 
 round. The church is built on two acres of ground, given, 
 with a donation of two hundred pounds, by the Earl of 
 Dartmouth. The first stone was laid on the 25th of June 
 1829, and the plate inserted in the stone, bears the following 
 inscription, “ This first stone of St Peter’s Church at Morley, 
 built under the direction of the Honble. the Board of His 
 Majesty’s Commissioners, for building new Churches, was laid 
 
 * The numbers throughout the book, refer to corresponding numbers on the 
 Plan accompanying the work. 
 
36 
 
 the 25th June, 1829. Rev. Thos. Foxley, Vicar of Batley, 
 R. D. Chantrell, Architect, Geo. Crowther, Robt. Clapham, 
 Churchwardens.” The ceremony of consecration was per¬ 
 formed by the Archbishop of York on the 30th of August, 
 1830. The arrangements of the day were under the direction 
 of a committee, consisting of Dr. Swinden, Mr. Crowther and 
 Mr. Scatcherd. The Odd-fellows with a band of music, and 
 all their showy insignia were in attendance. The sermon was 
 preached by the newly appointed minister, the Rev. C. B. Cave, 
 son of Sir Wilmot Cave, Bart. The text was the twenty- 
 fourth verse of the twentieth chapter of Exodus. It is said 
 that, “ the most lively interest was taken in this ceremony 
 by the villagers generally, accounted for by the fact, that for 
 two centuries previous to this time, a large portion of the 
 inhabitants who attended church, had to go to Batley, a dis¬ 
 tance of three miles.” At the time of the Domesday survey, 
 our village had a parish church, (now the Old Chapel,) but (it 
 was reduced by Robert de Lacy to the dependant state of a 
 chapel to Batley soon after the conquest. The general ap¬ 
 pearance of the interior of St. Peter’s is pleasing ; the fittings 
 are remarkably neat and in good taste, and the order and 
 cleanliness observed, are most commendable. The stained 
 glass window, over the communiontable, was inserted in 1850, 
 the expense being defrayed by public subscription. The 
 window is a triplet; and in the centre light is a figure of 
 St. Peter, six feet two inches in height, standing on a pedestal. 
 The figure is surmounted by a canopy, above which are the 
 keys, the emblem of the saint. The two side lights are well 
 fitted and arranged with beautiful emblems and monograms. 
 The light to the left contains the dove, and the monogram 
 I. H. S., the emblem of St. Matthew, the cup and vine, and 
 the emblem of St. Luke; and at the bottom, in a separate 
 compartment, are the arms of the Archbishop of York. The 
 line to the right contains the lamb and flag, the monogram 
 of Alpha and Omega, the emblem of St. Mark, the crown of 
 
87 
 
 thorns, and the emblem of St. John ; and, at the bottom, and 
 in a separate compartment, are the arms of the Bishop of 
 Ripon. Underneath this window, are painted tablets of the 
 Lord’s Prayer, Creed and Ten Commandments; the rest of 
 the windows in the church are lancet headed and single. As 
 yet, only three monuments ornament the walls of the church ; 
 these are erected to the memories of John Swinden, Esq., 
 Geo. Crowther. Esq., and Juliet Fanny, daughter of the 
 Rev. A. M. Parkinson, the present incumbent. This young 
 lady was suddenly cut off by fever, hut having endeared her¬ 
 self to the scholars of the Sunday School, they erected this 
 simple marble tablet to record her virtues. The church will 
 accommodate 1000 persons, 478 of them in free sittings. 
 The communion plate was presented; the silver cup is 
 inscribed “ Mary Scatcherd,’’ the silver plate “ Mary, relict of 
 James Scatcherd, London," the silver paten “Rev. Titos. 
 Foxley M.A., Vicar of Balley, to St. Peter's Church, Morley." 
 The organ was built by Mr Booth of Wakefield, it cost £140 
 and is considered a good one. The cost of the church was 
 £2954, and an authority on church architecture says of it, 
 “ the whole edifice, though one of the plainest, is one of the 
 most consistent and appropriate churches in the kingdom.” 
 The Revs. C.B. Cave, A. Cassells, M.A.,G.D. Miller, J.Pycock, 
 and A. M. Parkinson have officiated as incumbents since the 
 opening of the church. During the night of October 2nd, 
 1885, the church was broken into and robbed. It is supposed 
 the sacrilegious thieves were disturbed, as they only carried 
 away the pulpit-candlesticks and crimson altar cloth. The 
 candlesticks had been presented by Norrison Scatcherd, Esq., 
 and bore his name. Scatcherd, speaking of St. Peter’s Church, 
 says “ I cannot lay down my pen, without noticing the kindly 
 feeling displayed by many Dissenters of respectability, towards 
 those who have interested themselves regarding this church. 
 So far, at least, the principle of Dissenters, that every 
 Christian Society should support itself has been acted upon.” 
 
 E 
 
38 
 
 We are sorry to have to record that the “ kindly feeling ” 
 here spoken of did not last long. In the year 1832, commenced 
 a feud between the Church People and the Dissenters, that 
 seems to have raged for many years. In October a meeting 
 was called to lay a church rate. S. Webster, Esq., presided. 
 The feeling of the people was excited, and the village walls, 
 those freeholds of the billsticker, were abundantly filled with 
 placards,—printed and written. The following is a verbatim 
 copy of one of the written placards stuck upon the walls with 
 yeast;—Atend the church Meeting at Morley to aPose the 
 church locustes, Oct. 4, 10 o’clock, fofenoune.” The Dis¬ 
 senters were there in a body, assisted by legal authority, and 
 amongst the leaders we find the names of Asquith, Bradley, 
 Webster, Garnett, and others. Dr. Swinden proposed a rate 
 of threepence in the pound, but after an uproarious discussion, 
 the meeting voted three-farthings in the pound. In Septem¬ 
 ber 1883, another attempt was made to lay a rate, but the 
 meeting was adjourned for twelve months. Shortly after, the 
 Churchwardens not to be beat, taxed the ratepayers without 
 their leave, and a number of the parishioners feeling indisposed 
 to submit to this unauthorized impost, called a meeting in the 
 Town’s School when, “ after as much hubbub as prevailed at 
 Ephesus when the craft was in danger, but without the town 
 clerk to give them advice, the meeting dissolved without any 
 resolution being arrived at.” In 1835 another attempt was 
 made to lay a church rate, at a meeting presided over by the 
 Rev. A. Cassells. A rate was proposed and seconded—but 
 was rejected and a poll demanded. The proceedings of the 
 Earl of Dartmouth, and the Church party, in reference to an 
 Independent body in the village, (of which more hereafter) 
 had greatly strengthened the distaste for compulsory taxation 
 to support any one denomination of religionists, The result 
 of the poll was, for the rate 84, against it 177. This 
 unseemly state of things continued for several years, the last 
 effort to lay a church rate being made on the 18th day of 
 
39 
 
 March, 1841, at a vestry meeting held in the Town’s School, 
 the Rev G. D. Miller in the chair. It was moved by Dr. Swin- 
 den and seconded by John Leathley that, “a rate of one penny 
 in the pound he made, for the necessary repairs of the church.” 
 An amendment was moved, which the chairman refused to 
 put, and another chairman being appointed, the amendment, 
 which was to the following effect, was then put and carried 
 unanimously ;—“ That this meeting after duly considering 
 the state of Morley Church, is fully satisfied that the said 
 church is in excellent condition and free from delapidation and 
 decay—and therefore consider it altogether unnecessary to 
 lay a rate ;—and that the churchwardens and their advisers by 
 their unchristian conduct in calling the ratepayers from their 
 peaceful labours, and by causing agitation and turmoil 
 throughout the parish repeatedly within the space of four 
 months, deserve the severest censure of every ratepayer, and 
 that in order to protect themselves from the recurrence of 
 those vexatious proceedings, do now adjourn the consideration 
 of the question for twelve months.” 
 
 The matter of church rates was not the only source of dis¬ 
 agreement between the Dissenters, (a numerous body at that 
 time) and the newly Established Church in our village. The 
 distribution of Earl Dartmouth's dole at Christmas of every 
 year gave great dissatisfaction, as will be seen, from the 
 following copy of a hand bill which I have before me and 
 which at the time caused no slight alarm. Thanks to the 
 progress of knowledge, such effusions are now rarely seen. 
 “ Murderous Threat. £20 reward. A letter of which the 
 following is a copy, was on Monday last, received by the 
 Rev. A. Cassells, through the Morley Post Office. Morley, 
 
 Dec. 25, 1836. Nowpooar beggar orD-1 if though doeas 
 
 not devide the doole of the Earle of Dartmouth more 
 
 equal than thoug as done for me—by-1 will divide thy 
 
 soul from thy body, if the Decenting poore does not receave 
 an equal share with thy myssarabel congregation thoug shall 
 
40 
 
 receave sutcli a Quantity of lead into thy body as will send 
 
 thee to h-1—i ham prepared with a Tricker and I will 
 
 shoot Thee before thou art a month older i had Chans of 
 D^oing thy Job a few Days sins hut i though i would give 
 thee a chans if thou devides fairly tomorrow and leave off thy 
 
 d-d prosecuting ways thou may have a chance to live hut 
 
 if theiar is any more Church prosecutions ither hy Thee—dr. 
 
 Swinden or that d-d S-r you will all share the same 
 
 fate—we will have no more church rates—no more of the 
 Lords’ tennants molested if thear is you now what all three 
 
 may expect Casels Swinden and S-r. Sum of you three 
 
 may expect a few more lines soon. A looker on at church pro¬ 
 secutions. Now recollect the above—To the Keverent A. 
 Cassalls Church Parson Morley—near Leeds.” Such was 
 the bitterness of Dissent, thirty years ago in our village. 
 We are thankful to have to record that all this is a thing of 
 the past, and that each separate denomination does now 
 exercise that Christian charity which can say to others “ peace 
 be within your walls ” ; and we trust that our beautiful village 
 church, with its heaven shooting spire will, for centuries to 
 come, point the way to that happy and peaceful state which is 
 the abode of the just and reward of the faithful. 
 
 Stepping into the churchyard we cannot fail to observe that 
 
 “ The tyrant Death his trophies here hath spread, 
 
 His triumphs are in each memorial read.” 
 
 This sacred spot is nearly in the form of an oblong square, 
 and protected by a strong enclosure. At one comer of this 
 square stands the school, a commodious and neat building, 
 and along one side of the square are the gardens belonging to 
 the parsonage—the latter a convenient stone building, after the 
 style of the church. As we look around, we are forcibly 
 struck with the number of hillocks that lie thick around, and 
 with the vanity of the living, in seeking by monumental 
 stones to keep up the distinctions which existed in life. In 
 
41 
 
 reality, how they are all lost in the grave ! The beggar and 
 the rich man, and those who sleep in that comer of the 
 churchyard which calls to our recollection the memorable year 
 1849, when the pestilence visited our village ; all lie equally 
 low, and the worm feeds alike upon them. From our present 
 position, a varied and extensive view of the surrounding coun¬ 
 try is obtained. In the vale, right before us, may be seen the 
 spires, towers, and countless chimnies of the assize town to 
 which we have referred; while a little to the right, away in 
 the distance, are the fine woods and grounds with the vener¬ 
 able mansion of Temple Newsam ; and to the left of these the 
 Harewood plantations, with the hamlet of Whitkirk and the 
 great Ormescliffe. 
 
 “ Wide around 
 
 Hillock and valley, farm and village smile ; 
 
 And ruddy roofs and chimney tops appear 
 Of busy Leeds, up-wafting to the clouds 
 The incense of thanksgiving ; all is joy 
 And trade and business guide the living scene.” 
 
 As we look on this varied prospect, thoughts of life and duty 
 will arise, for while we look on the busy town before us, we 
 feel that there are duties to he performed before we can look 
 upon the grave as our rest. 
 
 Leaving the churchyard by the principal gateway, we enter 
 a lane which to our right seems to invite us to one of those 
 walks which, leading away from the busy haunts of man, offer 
 opportunity for quiet thought and reflection. Thither, in 
 spring and summer, for many generations, have numbers of 
 the villagers retired as a retreat from the cares of business, 
 and to enjoy u the pleasant chat of friends, with the cool 
 evening breezes and the pleasing scenery. An official entry 
 in the Town’s Minute Book, hearing date 1778, near one 
 hundred years ago, and having reference to this lane, is wor¬ 
 thy of being chronicled. It is as follows :— 
 
 “ Many and various are and have been the disputes relating to the 
 Repairs of the Rooms Lane, which have caused large expenses 
 
42 
 
 and not only so, but have caused Contentions and Ani¬ 
 mosities which are by no means pleasant and agreeable, Notwith¬ 
 standing this charge and the said lane being, tho’ at great expense, 
 properly entered and recorded at York as no high way, Thomas 
 Hopkins has in the year of bis office laid out some money in repairing 
 the said Lane contrary to the said Record at the Court at York and 
 also contrary to the will and pleasure of the principal Bearers. But 
 in order to promote Love and Friendship, he voluntarily submits to 
 the will and pleasure of his wellwisliing neighbours and is willing to 
 return the money there expended, and he with the rest of his friends 
 allow it to be chronicled in this Town’s Book and to stand there as a 
 Terror and warning to all succeeding officers as it informs them that 
 any Officer who shall at any tirnd hereafter repair the said Rooms Lane 
 as an high road, or any other road as an high road which is not really 
 and properly such, they shall bear it at their own proper expense.” 
 
 We are afraid that this threat has been overlooked, not only 
 in a general sense, but more particularly with regard to this 
 lane. 
 
 But leaving this unpleasant topic, we well remember, in 
 times that are past, seeing to what purposes this real old 
 English lane was put; but lest we should he guilty of disclosing 
 secrets we will only add that when, in the twilight of many a 
 summer’s evening, we have been indulging in a reverie in this 
 sequestered glade, our path has been crossed by those whose 
 vows, wishes, and 'hopes, animated in expression by sur¬ 
 rounding circumstances, were never intended for other ears 
 than their own. Turning to the left, we leave this interesting 
 spot of green, and reaching the high road, the first objects 
 that arrest our attention are two modem buildings; the one to 
 our right, called, I presume, from its commanding position, 
 the “Prospect Hotel,” (2) is built on a site where formerly 
 stood a modest one-storey building named, for reasons I am 
 unable to learn, the “ Old White Cross.” I can only 
 conjecture that, as four roads meet at this point, it is likely 
 that formerly a guide-post or cross may have stood on or near 
 this place. 
 
 The building a little to our left, named the “Nelson’s 
 
43 
 
 Anns,” (3) was, some fifty or sixty years ago, the village 
 court house. The worthy magistrate, Watson Scatcherd, Esq., 
 father of Norrison Scatcherd, Esq., was, I am given to under¬ 
 stand, “a fine old English gentleman,” whose unaffected 
 manners, candid mind, impartial justice, and benevolent heart, 
 made him a general favourite with the villagers, who always 
 looked up to him with a certain amount of reverence. In 
 one of the lower rooms of the inn, surrounded by all the idlers 
 of the place, our justice of the peace held his court ; and all 
 matters from several neighbouring villages, as well as Morley, 
 requiring magisterial interference, received prompt and careful 
 attention at his hands. 
 
 Near the “Prospect Hotel” formerly stood the “Village 
 Smithy,” of lowly proportions ; but this, too, has been swept 
 away, and a building erected of a more pretentious character, 
 and better adapted for the increasing trade of the village 
 blacksmith and farrier. 
 
 It seems but the other day, that the old smithy, the 
 inns and the church, were pleasantly surrounded by greenfiekls 
 and hedgerows, but the building mania of the last twenty 
 years, has stretched itself in this direction of “ Our Village.” 
 as in all others, and the fields that in our day, stretched from 
 Banks Hill to the Old White Cross, exist only as a pleasant 
 remembrance. From the latter place to what is now the Post 
 Office, was, till lately, called Windmill Lane, from the wind¬ 
 mill that stood near the road side ; but brick and mortar have 
 transformed the lane into a street, and the mill with its 
 creaking sails has been pulled down, and now, we are walking 
 along “ Church Street.” We confess that we felt reluctant to 
 part with the old mill, for it had come to be regarded as one 
 of the landmarks in “ Our Village,” and a popular illustrated 
 paper, a few years ago, wishing to immortalize the place, in 
 its pages, gave a picture of a windmill standing alone, and 
 underneath was printed “ View of Morley near Leeds.” 
 
 On the left of Church Street is a large field (4) which 
 
44 
 
 standing intimately connected with one of our public societies, 
 must not be overlooked. Here, every September, is held the 
 village flower show. But the modest “Morley Floral Society” 
 of 1836, can scarcely be recognized in the “ Morley Floral, 
 Horticultural, ana Agricultural Society and Great West York¬ 
 shire Dahlia Show” of the present day. The first meeting of this 
 society was held in August, 1836, when N. Scatcherd, Esq., 
 was appointed President, Dr. Swinden, Treasurer, and Mr. D. 
 Butterfield, Secretary. The first show was held in the 
 National School Room, Townend. The number of subscribers 
 was 27, subscriptions £3 7s. 6d., for admission to the show 
 11s. 6d. out of which items the committee gave 20s. as prizes. 
 The expenses were 28s. 3d. leaving a balance in hand of 
 30s. 9d. This humble show has gone on swelling itself year 
 after year, till now, it has, for patrons, earls, baronets, com¬ 
 moners and men of all classes, a noble list of nearly five 
 hundred subscribers, an annual revenue of more than £300 ; 
 a splendid show ground, and 10,000 visitors on the show day. 
 We are not sure that the founders of the society, if they could 
 see this great change, would approve of the same. We believe 
 they would consider these great shows a mistake. They 
 instituted the society that bona-fide cottagers might compete 
 (not for a few shillings, which are often spent to no purpose) 
 but as the first prize list proves, for articles of daily use or 
 ornament, such as copper kettles, spades, knives, pictures, &c., 
 which the winner looked upon with honest pride, and which he 
 could leave as a humble heir-loom to decorate the cottage home. 
 
 Connected with this field, we have one of our most popular 
 village sports—the game of cricket—which has been much 
 practised in Morley for more than a century. The present 
 “Nelson Cricket Club” has been in existence about ten years, 
 and is under the presidency of Samuel Webster, Esq., whose 
 exertions to support it have been untiring. The first grand 
 Match by twenty-two of this club and district was played with 
 the All-England Eleven in July, 1862, on this ground. The 
 
45 
 
 match lasted three days; and on the third day the ground 
 presented a most animated scene, as it was computed that six 
 thousand persons were present, including a large number of 
 ladies, who, in their gayest attire, graced a large marquee, 
 near to which the Morley Band was stationed. After some 
 splendid cricketing, when “time” was called, the game was 
 declared a tie; Morley having, however, three wickets to fall, 
 virtually winning the game. 
 
 In the year following, the “Nelson” twenty-two again 
 played the All-England Eleven, on this ground, when the 
 latter obtained an easy victory, winning with 116 runs to 
 spare. During the existence of this club the members have 
 played innumerable matches, and beaten, at various times, 
 nearly every club in the neighbouring villages. This club has 
 produced several first-class players, including 0. Scatcherd, 
 J. Senior, and W. Stubiey, who have won for themselves a 
 good reputation as cricketers; the two latter have been 
 engaged as professional cricketers by crack clubs in several 
 large towns. 
 
 V 
 
RAMBLE II. 
 
 “ May’st thou Old Time ! no more behold 
 Such tragic scenes as are unroll’d 
 In chronicles long past: 
 
 But Industry and Wealth combine 
 To make this Town with Commerce shine, 
 And may its glories last.” 
 
 Anon. 
 
 “ Where once the forest tree upreared its head 
 The chimney casts its smoke-wreath to the skies.” 
 
 Anon. 
 
 Continuing our walk, we notice on our left, “Albion Mill,” 
 (5) occupying the site where formerly stood a steam corn-mill. 
 This mill which, as we pass, we distinctly hear resounding with 
 the whirr and buzz of machinery in active operation, is but 
 one of the many busy hives of industry, that have sprung up 
 in this village within the past thirty years. And this brings 
 us to speak of the trade peculiar to Morley. We cannot trace 
 its origin and know but little of its early history; we know this 
 much however, that the inhabitants of this place have been 
 employed in making cloth, time out of mind. We shall 
 endeavour to give as correct an account of the development 
 and progress of the manufacture of cloth here, during the past 
 one hundred years, as the information at our command will 
 admit. We are not prepared to say whether the original and 
 most primitive kind of weaving first adopted in England was 
 ever practised in this village. This first essay in cloth-making 
 was as follows: the material was taken as nature gave it, and 
 thus made into a rude cloth. Rushes, grasses, and fibrous 
 plants were put into the position of weft and warp, and inter¬ 
 laced, and the cloth was at once made. It was not unlike a 
 
ALBION MILL MORLEY. 
 
47 
 
 domestic process of which we may see something once a 
 week at home, called “darning.” The hand-loom was in use 
 in Morley in 1760, and the weavers had to work fifteen hours 
 a day for a shilling! Here is consolation for the workers of 
 the present day, when they see that their ancestors worked 
 harder and for much worse fare than they themselves do. 
 The “Apprenticeship” system was at this time in full force, 
 and continued until the early part of the present century. 
 Many are still living who remember the hardships they 
 experienced during the time they were serving their “appren¬ 
 ticeship” under the system, then legal, of compelling manu¬ 
 facturers and others to take boys and girls from the parish 
 authorities. In the “Town’s Book,” to which reference is 
 made in the introductory chapter, appears “A List of all the 
 persons who have had Town or Parish apprentices, with the 
 names of the latter, from the year 1700 to 1802.” In 1775 
 it is recorded as follows:—“Rec d - of Alice Halstead, Widow, 
 £5 15s. Gd. in lieu of a Town’s Apprentice.” Another entry 
 is to the following effect :— 
 
 “ March 5th, 1759. Whereas, Wilhn. Worseman, a poor child, 
 being put Parish Apprentice to Sami. Fozzard, and he, the said 
 apprentice, being set at liberty by Two of Her Majesty’s Justices of 
 the Peace, and there being a considerable charge about the s<l- ap¬ 
 prentice well amounts to £1 8s. 6d., and now the said Sami. Fozzard 
 does hereby agree to beare halfe of the charge & the Constble. the 
 other halfe, And for that the said Sami. Fozzard is to be freed of a 
 Parish Apprentice, for seven years next ensuing the date hereof.” 
 
 In looking over the village constable’s expenses for 1781, 
 eighty-five years ago, I find the following entry :—“Septem¬ 
 ber 21st. Paid to Ben Fosterd for blowing the Horn, 6d.” 
 The horn was blown at five o’clock every morning, the time 
 for beginning, and at eight at night, the time for leaving 
 work. On Christmas mom, a special immunity was granted 
 to the servants aud apprentices, who were allowed to lay 
 
48 
 
 undisturbed, except as they heard the “nominy” of the per¬ 
 son who, blew the old horn, and sung— 
 
 “ Dames rise and bake your pies, 
 
 And let your maids lie still; 
 
 For they have risen all the year, 
 
 Sore against their will.” 
 
 Whether spinning, like the weaving, was first done entirely by 
 hand, we cannot ascertain ; hut no doubt when the idea of 
 preparing the wool by twisting into thread was formed, there 
 followed the invention of that simple piece of machinery 
 known as the Distaff and Spindle. After this, came the Spin¬ 
 ning Wheel, a piece of mechanism not unknown to the house¬ 
 wives of our village a century ago. The average earnings of 
 spinners was sixpence-halfpenny per day in these good old 
 times as they are often called. One feels almost tempted to 
 pity our ancestors earning their daily bread under such cir¬ 
 cumstances ; but the picture which our village historian has 
 drawn of the condition of things in the latter half of the 
 eighteenth century makes us almost regret that such a happy 
 Elysium as then existed should have ever been disturbed. 
 He says: “Before the introduction of machinery, and while 
 manual labour was the chief requisite, our manufactures 
 advanced progressively; so that towards the close of the 
 last century we had many respectable, substantial, and happy 
 clothiers at Morley, who kept their apprentices, servants, and 
 children in some subordination. The village, in these times, 
 wore a cheerful aspect; for industry and content appeared in 
 their dwellings. The loom was heard in almost every house, 
 and the measured beat of the swinging-rods, accompanied by the 
 song of joy, resounded through our valleys from hill to hill. 
 The young people, generally working for their parents, or as 
 servants in the best families, were taught civility, obedience, 
 and domestic management—especially the females, who thus 
 received such lessons of economy as fitted them for the duties 
 of mature age, or the marriage state.” 
 
49 
 
 If we try to present you with a picture of a family, as they 
 were then employed in this village, you will get a better idea 
 of what there was iu their employment which could cause an 
 onlooker to write so enthusiastically. The head of the family 
 would he engaged at what was then called the “stocks”—a 
 frame with an inclined plane—in front of which he sat. On 
 the face of this inclined plane were fixed coarse cards, upon 
 which was placed the wool. In his hand, the workman held a 
 square hoard, also covered with cards; and with a see-saw 
 motion of this board over the inclined plane, the fibres of the 
 locks of wool were combed and prepared for being spun; it 
 was then transferred to the “gude-wife” or the daughter, the 
 latter generally, from whence came the appellation of spinster. 
 Industriously spinning the single thread from the carded wool 
 the whirr of the spinning wheel suggesting the song so fre¬ 
 quently heard from its fair worker. Then the son would be 
 whistling his merry strain to the music of the swingiug-rods, 
 and others of the family would be warping the webs or 
 winding the bobbins : all these operations under the parental 
 roof would, to a casual observer, present the idea of content¬ 
 ment and happiness. But when we consider that such a 
 family—comprising, say, five members—could not all earn as 
 much as one good workman in any of our factories now, we 
 feel thankful that such days have passed away. 
 
 An attempt was made to preserve the “ domestic manufac¬ 
 ture” by Act of Parliament in 1804, when a Bill passed the 
 Houses of Parliament, which provided that, no person should 
 begin to be a clothier or woollen manufacturer, unless he was 
 duly qualified by having served an apprenticeship. It also 
 stated the number of looms such clothiers should have in their 
 own houses for the manufacturing of broad cloth; in fact, all 
 the provisions of this Bill were framed with a view to the 
 perpetuation of the “domestic manufacture.” The preamble 
 to this Bill had in it the following clause. “ That the 
 employment of persons in the woollen trade to spin and 
 
50 
 
 weave and make cloth at their own houses, has produced the 
 most beneficial effects; and the employment of numerous 
 looms in the same manufactory should he prohibited.” We 
 must not forget to mention that, when the cloth was ready 
 for the market, the happy (?) clothier of a century or two ago 
 could not, as we do now, step into the train and find himself 
 at the market in a few minutes. It was no uncommon thing 
 for them to cany the piece of cloth to Leeds on their heads, 
 and when they arrived there they had to stand in Briggate to 
 sell it, in all sorts of weather. An old clothier was once 
 asked how he liked carrying the cloth to Leeds, when he 
 humourously replied, that, “ it helped to keep his hat on.” 
 Parsons says: “ The original market for woollen cloth was held 
 on Leeds bridge. It must however have been strangely 
 inconvenient, and it must have presented a curious and 
 ludicrous scene. The pack-horses brought their loads, stalls 
 were erected, and the clothiers, amidst tumult and confusion, 
 disposed of their goods to the purchasers. The market was 
 removed, although the system was preserved, in 1684. On 
 the 14th of June in that year, the cloth market was removed 
 into Briggate ; it was held in the early part of the day, and 
 closed by the ringing of the bell at the old chapel on the 
 bridge; then the goods and benches were immediately 
 removed, and the street was occupied by the country linen 
 drapers, shoemakers, and other tradesmen.” 
 
 After the market was over, it was customary to take the 
 goods, if unsold, to the “ Rodney” or some other inn, and 
 leave them in a small room upstairs, or deposit them in the 
 cellar, and on the following market day, the clothiers went by 
 four or five o’clock in the morning, to find the goods where 
 they had left them ; if they had gone later, there would have 
 been a difficulty in finding them, as the whole stock would 
 have been squandered about the place. In 1736, Richard 
 Wilson, of Ossett, made two pieces of broad cloth, and 
 earned one of them on his head to Leeds and sold it; the 
 
51 
 
 merchant being in want of the other piece, Richard went from 
 Leeds to Ossett, then carried the cloth to Leeds and returned 
 to Ossett again ; walking about thirty-six miles during the 
 day. Scatcherd has also given us an account of these happy 
 days of our villagers. He writes; “ The clothiers of the 
 early part of the last century were obliged to be upon the 
 Bridge of Leeds, where the market was held, by about six 
 o’clock in summer, and seven in winter ; and hither they 
 were convened by a bell anciently pertaining to a chantry 
 chapel, which was once annexed to Leeds bridge.—They did 
 not all ride, but most of them went on foot.—They did not 
 dine on fish, flesh and fowl, with wine, &c., as some do now. 
 No! No! The careful housewife wrapped up a bit of oat¬ 
 cake and cheese in the little chequed handkerchief, and 
 charged her husband to mind and not get above a pint of ale 
 at the * Rodney.’ ” 
 
 About the year 1760 the first improvement on the “stocks” 
 or process of carding came into use; mills were built, in 
 which was a rude willey, with one or two scribblers and 
 carders, each having one swift: and these were indebted for 
 their motive power to a water wheel. One of these mills was 
 situated in the parish of Huddersfield, and was visited 
 by some of the Morley clothiers, who, on their return, 
 declared their belief that the new machine would be 
 sufficient to swallow up the whole trade of the Morley hand- 
 carders. Who claims the merit or deserves the praise 
 due to the invention of the scribbler and carder, is not 
 known. Of their importance to the trade of Morley, I 
 need not say one word. The next improvement worthy of 
 note took place in 1767, when the Spinning Jenny was 
 invented and applied to wool, and soon after came into use in 
 the Morley manufacture. At this time the wool was willied in 
 a room at the windmill, of which we have already spoken; 
 and the various clothiers went for their wool in the evening 
 with their “whartren” baskets, as they were called, from 
 
52 
 
 holding just six pounds, or oue whartren of wool. They had 
 then to take the wool to some neighbouring mill to be 
 scribbled and carded, until two or three of these small mills 
 —deriving their motion from “horse gins”—were established 
 in the village. 
 
 We next come to an event of an important character in 
 connection with the expansion of our trade, namely, the 
 erection of Crank Mill, which was built in 1790, and was the 
 first mill in the neighbourhood. Previous to this date, the 
 hills and valleys of Morley were innocent of those large 
 buildings and tall chimnies which now meet the eye in all 
 directions, telling us their tale of busy labour and ceaseless 
 production. A local writer has well said: “In those days, 
 the steel clad barons and aristocracy were wont to consider 
 themselves as so many petty kings in their own dominions, 
 and attempted to rule the sturdy Yorkshiremen accordingly; 
 but in vain. Yet we have men who sing plaintively of the 
 ‘good old times,’ and declare that the spirit of poetry has 
 departed from us.” “Steam and factories have done it all” 
 is the creed of these people. “What poetry is there in 
 wheels, cylinders, looms, engines, and so forth?” they 
 inquire. They sing— 
 
 “ Let law and learning, art and commerce die, 
 
 But leave us still our old nobility. 
 
 Foolish people ! In the clang and whirr of the countless 
 wheels of the Yorkshire factories there is to be heard more 
 music than ever was clanked by the cumbrous armour of the 
 haughtiest knights.” 
 
 The steam engine was brought into requisition at the 
 Crank Mill, and as its capabilities considerably exceeded 
 either the horse-gin or water-wheel it caused, at that time, 
 as great a sensation in the village as it does at present to the 
 stranger who, coming from Leeds by rail, is arrested by its 
 appearance at the outside of the mill, in much the same 
 
CRANK MILL. MOR LEY 
 
53 
 
 primitive form as when put np seventy-five years ago. But 
 we must bear in mind that this was erected almost immediately 
 after the genius of Watt had rendered steam applicable to 
 manufacturing purposes. The dimensions of Crank Mill were 
 large for the time ; it contained three or four billies, having 
 twenty-four spindles each, with scribblers and carders to 
 correspond, and a willey of much improved character to the 
 one at the windmill. The mill was built by the Earl of 
 Dartmouth, who also put up the engine for one Mr. Webster, 
 a name that has been connected with the trade of Morley 
 in all probability, for several centuries. Our historian says : 
 “The name of the first person whom I can discover living at 
 Morley, is Richard Webster, married in 1575, to Johan 
 Watson—Webster, like the name of Walker, and an infinity 
 of other names, arose from the trade or business which the 
 first of the name followed.” 
 
 In a few years after Crank Mill was built, Rods Mill was 
 erected; and our village historian began to feel alarmed at 
 the innovation, and condemns, in severe language, the factory 
 system. “If one,” he writes, “could wonder at anything 
 now-a-days, it would be that such establishments have not 
 long since been a subject for legislative interference. One 
 thing is certain, that they are polluting our youth, who, 
 huddled together, males and females, in these pest-houses— 
 the factories—are exposed to the contagion of bad example, 
 and immoral intercourse ; and we find the boy, receiving his 
 weekly wages, is now a man at about sixteen years of age, 
 perfectly aware of his independence, and, of course, under no 
 sort of control.” 
 
 But, notwithstanding this and similar tirades against the 
 introduction of machinery, one improvement rapidly followed 
 another, until the year 1812, when the introduction of the 
 Gig-mill, for raising the wool, took place; and this was the 
 signal for riot and bloodshed. The fears and suspicions of the 
 working classes were now aroused, and an organization was 
 
 a 
 
54 
 
 formed, which had for its object the destruction of Shearing 
 Machines and Gig-Mills. Many are still living in our village 
 who remember the time of the Luddites, so called, from their 
 leader, Ludd. These rioters first attacked the works of Mr. 
 Foster, at Horbury, and destroyed them. Immediately after, 
 their leader ordered them into a field, and their numbers 
 (each having a number to conceal his name) being called, he 
 dismissed them by the word of command, “The work is done, 
 —disperse.” In that business, the whole time occupied, in 
 mustering, demolishing, and separating, did not exceed 
 twenty-one minutes. The depredations of this band were not 
 checked until Mr. Horsfall, a most respectable manufacturer* 
 at Huddersfield, was shot near his own house. Detachments 
 of soldiers were sent round the county, some of whom paraded 
 our village, dispersing all groups of idlers, consisting of three 
 or more persons ; and a watch was nightly kept over the 
 machines of Mr. Dixon, occupying a house near the present 
 Post-office. No riot occurred in Morley; and a reward of 
 £2,000 being offered for the murderer of Mr. Horsfall, one 
 of the band turned king’s evidence, and three of their number 
 were executed. Fourteen men, also, who were convicted of 
 participating in an attack on Mr. Cartwright’s, and other 
 mills, were executed in one day; and their bodies, given up to 
 their friends, were brought from York, and passed through 
 Morley, on their way to Cleckheaton and other places, for 
 burial. We cannot but feel regret at the legal destruction of 
 so many lives; but, at the same time, we must not forget that 
 the movement, if left unchecked, would have put a stop 
 to improvement and progress in the manufacture, to the 
 growth of the trade, and to the security of property. 
 
 In 1779, Samuel Crompton invented the mule, and it was 
 applied to the spinning of cotton; but it was not till about 
 fifty years after that time that it was introduced into Morley. 
 The Billy, at this time, had increased the number of its spindles 
 from twenty-four to sixty, and power-looms were just brought 
 
65 
 
 out in some neighbouring places. These changes were not 
 looked upon very favourably by the working classes, nor 
 indeed by many of the better classes in Morley. We find that 
 a meeting was held on Monday, March 22nd, 1830, called by 
 the chief constable, Mr. John Garnett, on a requisition pre¬ 
 sented to him, signed by twenty-three respectable house and 
 freeholders, “ for the purpose of considering the propriety of 
 petitioning parliament to lay a duty and rate upon a species of 
 machinery, called mules, horses, and power-looms.” The 
 meeting consisted of from two to three thousand persons. 
 N. Scatcherd, Esq. occupied the chair, and in his opening 
 remarks, expressed his deep sense of the magnitude of the 
 evils consequent upon the machinery system. Dr. Swinden 
 and Mr. Gillgrass also addressed the meeting to the same 
 effect. A petition to parliament was adopted, and at the close 
 the following resolution was also proposed and carried. “ That 
 there be a political Union formed and established in Morley, of 
 the middle and lower classes to join with other villages and 
 towns, for the purpose of effecting a National Reform in the 
 Commons House of Parliament, by uniting moral force, with a 
 long voice, a strong voice, and a voice altogether.” It is 
 reported, that the Union banner was then unfurled, and a band 
 of music proclaimed the joyful tidings to every heart. The 
 chairman duly forwarded a copy of the petition to each of the 
 county members, and at the same time, they were severally 
 requested to support the prayer of the petitioners. The 
 answers returned to this request, are well worthy of being 
 preserved. The first was received from Lord Milton, and was 
 to the following effect. 
 
 London, April 1st, 1830. 
 
 Sir, 
 
 I have received your letter with a copy of the petition, 
 praying for the imposition of a duty on certain kinds of machinery, 
 with the avowed idea of discouraging their use. The effect of such a 
 measure, would necessarily be to enhance the value of the manu¬ 
 factured article and consequently to curtail our commerce—the result 
 
66 
 
 would inevitably be injurious to the population engaged in manu¬ 
 facturing to supply that commerce. I cannot therefore see that the 
 measure would be productive of the slightest benefit, 
 
 I am, your faithful servant, 
 
 To N. Scatcherd, Esq., Morley. MILTON. 
 
 The second reply was very different to this ; 
 
 London, March 31st, 1830. 
 
 Sir, 
 
 I shall have much pleasure in presenting the petition, 
 upon the subject of a tax on a species of machinery. 
 
 Yours, W. DUNCOMBE. 
 
 The third reply was as follows ; 
 
 London, April 1st, 1830. 
 
 Sir, 
 
 I am favoured with a copy of the Morley petition. I 
 am sensible that the introduction of power-looms, or any other 
 machine for shortening labour causes distress to the hand-loom 
 weavers and others, who are thereby displaced, but this distress is 
 temporary, and if improved machines are not introduced, the manu¬ 
 facturing operatives would be permanently distressed. I cannot 
 therefore support the prayer of your petition. 
 
 Yours obediently, 
 
 N. Scatcherd, Esq. JOHN MARSHALL. 
 
 Notwithstanding these rebukes, and in view of the still 
 further extension of the factory system, by the establishment 
 of a joint-stock scribbling company, then in contemplation, 
 calculated still further to assist in breaking up the old domestic 
 manufacture, and in destroying old domestic habits, another 
 meeting was held in March, 1831, in the Town’s School. 
 Dr. Swinden was in the chair and in his speech said that, “ It 
 was the bounden duty of all to uphold the domestic manu¬ 
 facture and the operatives particularly are bound to hail that 
 good old fashioned system, which offered an encouragement 
 to men to be careful, because by being so, they might purchase 
 a little wool, manufacture it into cloth, take it to the Leeds 
 Cloth Hall, and having once tasted the sweets of labour, they 
 would be more industrious and better members of society.” 
 The meeting passed resolutions condemnatory of the factory 
 
57 
 
 system. This dissatisfaction still continued, and though 
 confined for some time to expression at public meetings, in the 
 spring of 1833, the hand-loom weavers and others employed 
 in the cloth trade considering that they were unjustly dealt 
 with in the matter of wages, and still smarting under the 
 fancied injustice of what was termed “the abominable factory 
 system,” a strike of a very formidable character took place in 
 the village. This was productive of much suffering to the 
 community, and of ill-will between the employer and employed. 
 The Messrs. Websters, at this time, occupied the Rods Mill; 
 and though their workpeople were in receipt of good wages, 
 and felt no desire to complain, the “turnouts” were deter¬ 
 mined that they should not continue work, and a formidable 
 body, consisting of four hundred persons, armed with stones 
 and bludgeons, marched through the village to Rods Mill, and 
 demanded that the workpeople should cease their employment 
 until the grievances of which they had cause to complain were 
 redressed. Their demand not being at once complied with, the 
 rioters stopped the engine and removed the fire from under the 
 boilers. The committee of what was termed “The Union” sat 
 continuously, at the Nelson’s Aims, and the persecutions of 
 the “black sheep,” as they were called, were carried to such 
 an excess that special constables were elected to preserve the 
 peace; but their efforts were not altogether successful, for at 
 the Bradford sessions, seven men were committed to prison 
 for intimidation. When the time of their imprisonment had 
 expired, a grand demonstration was made ; the turnouts went 
 by hundreds, and a band of music escorted them in triumph 
 to Rods Mill—the result being, that three others were 
 convicted at the following sessions, and sentenced to three 
 months’ imprisonment, “for endeavouring, by threats, to deter 
 A. Holman from continuing to work in Websters’ mill.” The 
 village, for many weeks, was in a continual state of excitement, 
 apprehension, anxiety, and alarm. 
 
 This dark chapter in the history of “Our Village” passed 
 
68 
 
 away, and the year 1834 brought improvement to the trade. 
 At this time forty of the manufacturers combined their capital, 
 with the intention to accomplish jointly what they were unable 
 to do singly. The result was, the formation of the Gillroyd 
 Mill Company, under the title of “Asquith, Clark, and Co.” 
 Three thousand pounds was the subscribed capital, with which 
 land was bought, a substantial stone mill was erected, into 
 which was put three or four billies, with scribblers, carders, 
 and mules to follow, also a few fulling stocks. Some idea 
 of the increase of the Morley trade, as represented by this 
 Company, may be formed, when we state that at the present 
 time the value of the property held by them is not less than 
 £30,000, and comprises land, a new mill five stories high, 
 seventy yards long and seventeen yards wide, the old mill; these 
 contain thirty scribbling and carding machines, with con- 
 densors; mules with seven thousand spindles ; and near two 
 hundred power looms; besides a large number of milling 
 machines and “stocks.” 
 
 Coeval with the erection of the Gillroyd Mill, the utility of 
 mungo, or ground “tailor’s clippings,” in the manufacture of 
 woollen cloth was discovered, before which time the rags were 
 sold to the farmers for manure. Previous to this discovery, 
 the manufacturer's of Morley used “ Fud ” as the principal 
 material to mix with the wool. This article was produced in 
 mills where wool was extensively scribbled and carded, and 
 consisted of the waste from the machines. The trade of 
 fudding was a very money-getting business; and a regular 
 market was held in the “Rodney” yard for it, as well as 
 large dealers in Pudsey, Bramley, and other places keeping 
 stocks at their own homes. The use of this material in the 
 Morley union manufacture has now nearly ceased, and mungo 
 is the staple ingredient of our cloths. Old woollen rags were 
 first tom up in London thirty years ago; but the credit of 
 the introduction of mungo into this district belongs to Batley. 
 The machine which restores broad cloth, tailors’ clippings. 
 
GILLROYD MILLS. MORLEY. 
 
59 
 
 and cast off garments, to a state suitable for scribbling and 
 spinning was first brought into use in Morley in the year 
 1838, and with the introduction of cotton warp about the 
 same time, by Mr. Hodgshon, may be said to form the turning 
 point in the history of the trade of the village, for the 
 manufacturers of Morley have gone on with increasing spirit 
 and success from that time forward, extending the range of 
 their labours and their produce, and availing themselves of 
 all the mechanical improvements brought out, till at the 
 present moment they have reached a high state of prosperity. 
 Not that such progress has been uninterrupted or one even 
 course of profitable trade, for Morley has seen its panics and 
 felt the distress consequent thereon. In 1837 the operatives 
 in the village almost reached the starvation point; for nearly 
 all the manufacturers were at a stand. Having been engaged 
 for a considerable time in making for the American market 
 that became glutted, and the goods when they reached the 
 other side of the Atlantic, were in many cases seized and 
 kept until they were comparatively valueless. This kept the 
 money of the employers fast, and the consequence was, that, 
 they could do little to relieve the distress around them: 
 numbers of the operatives left home and went into the 
 agricultural districts a begging. In February of that year, the 
 Dewsbury Poor Law Union had been formed, and the power 
 of the Overseers of the Poor in Morley to relieve their own 
 poor was taken out of their hands; this was felt as a great 
 injustice and bitter was the feeling against the Government 
 in this matter. A new valuation was made, which nearly 
 doubled the rates on cottages and reduced those on land about 
 one-third ; by which alteration, those were at that time, com¬ 
 pelled to pay the rates who ought to have been receiving them, 
 and many were summoned who had neither work nor bread. 
 The panic of 1837 is not yet effaced from the memory of 
 many still living. 
 
 The Plug Drawing of 1842 was another outbreak, oonse- 
 
60 
 
 quent on the depression of trade, and was one of the many 
 futile attempts to gain, by coercion, what was not in the 
 power of the employers to give. We well remember the 
 rioters passing in great numbers through Moiiey, calling on 
 their way at farm houses, and demanding eatables in a man¬ 
 ner that would admit of no denial. The years 1847 and 
 1857 witnessed further panics in the cloth trade. These in 
 a great measure took their rise in the United States of 
 America ; the mercantile and manufacturing classes suffered 
 severely ; for many months in each of these years there was 
 a paralysis of business in this and the neighbouring towns. 
 For the sake of the operatives, whose condition was most 
 painful; we trust that we have seen the last of these draw¬ 
 backs to the well-being of our villagers. 
 
 Though cotton was first used as warp for cloths nearly thirty 
 years ago, it did not become general till some years after; 
 strong prejudice and active opposition on the part of the 
 merchants and the public, being directed against this striking 
 change in the manufacture. The object of the change was to 
 produce cheap, useful, and durable cloths for wearing apparel; 
 and as regards the relative merits of all-woollen and union 
 cloths, the latter are, price for price, neater, smarter, and 
 sounder. So ingeniously is the manufacture carried out at the 
 present, that the cotton is completely covered and he is a 
 clever judge indeed who can find out the difference between the 
 all-woollen and the mixed fabric of a similar kind. The 
 power-loom, well adapted for the cotton warps, was introduced 
 into the village by Mr. Matthew Smith, and the hand-looms 
 began to rapidly disappear from the cottages of the operatives, 
 and the “ music of the swinging-rods ” is now seldom heal’d 
 and will ere long be entirely a thing of the past. 
 
 As with the cotton warp, so with the mixture of the much 
 slandered mungo, or as it sometimes called “ devil’s dust,” 
 with the wool; the public eagerness for cheapness had much 
 to do with the introduction of both these kinds of material. 
 
61 
 
 But the real advantage is, that the community at large have 
 been, and are more comfortably and cheaply clad, by tha 
 utilization of what was formerly considered as only rubbish. 
 Those who can afford to buy the “ superfine broad cloths ” 
 have them more reasonable, because of the “ union cloths ” 
 which largely supplies the place of, and reduces the demand 
 for the former. In 1851, Morley had only six mills, engaged 
 in the manufacture of cloth ; now, it has upwards of twenty, 
 and more than one thousand three hundred looms, confined 
 almost exclusively to the production of union cloths, which 
 find a market in every part of the world, and have also a large 
 home consumption. 
 
 “ The products of thy skill are known, 
 
 In distant lands—in every zone.” 
 
 The present position of the union manufacture in Morley, 
 will he best gathered from the accompanying table, shewing as 
 it does, the capabilities of each mill in the village,— 
 
 Name of Mill. 
 
 jNoml. 
 
 Occupier or Owner. Power 
 (of En. 
 
 g>JS 
 
 IScrib- 
 
 blers. 
 
 iCard- 
 | ers. 
 
 Spin¬ 
 
 dles. 
 
 Lms. 
 
 Gillroyd 
 
 Gillroyd Mill Compy. 
 
 80 
 
 4 
 
 23 
 
 17 
 
 7000 
 
 155 
 
 Peel 
 
 W. and E. Jackson 
 
 35 
 
 — 
 
 11 
 
 11 
 
 4600 
 
 150 
 
 Rods 
 
 Watson, Rhodes, & Co. 
 
 40 
 
 1 
 
 9 
 
 9 
 
 3214 
 
 81 
 
 Valley 
 
 A. Scott and Son 
 
 85 
 
 1 
 
 12 
 
 7 
 
 4200 
 
 118 
 
 Britannia 
 
 J. Ross and others 
 
 36 
 
 2 
 
 9 
 
 9 
 
 3400 
 
 60 
 
 Hembrigg 
 
 Hirst Bros, and others. 
 
 36 
 
 2 
 
 6 
 
 6 
 
 1920 
 
 70 
 
 Prospect 
 
 J. & H. Benn and others 
 
 50 
 
 2 
 
 6 
 
 6 
 
 3600 
 
 68 
 
 Springfield 
 
 Dixon, Nicholls, & Co. 
 
 50 
 
 1 
 
 8 
 
 8 
 
 3944 
 
 121 
 
 Albion 
 
 Barron and Stockwell 
 
 85 
 
 1 
 
 6 
 
 5 
 
 2700 
 
 45 
 
 Prospect 
 
 George Svkes 
 
 14 
 
 — 
 
 4 
 
 4 
 
 1866 
 
 38 
 
 Providence 
 
 S. and J. Schofield 
 
 12 
 
 — 
 
 4 
 
 3 
 
 1300 
 
 40 
 
 Low Moor 
 
 S. Dixon and Son 
 
 25 
 
 1 
 
 3 
 
 3 
 
 1200 
 
 28 
 
 Perseverance 
 
 A. Marshall and Son 
 
 20 
 
 — 
 
 3 
 
 3 
 
 1520 
 
 50 
 
 Victoria 
 
 James Sharp 
 
 25 
 
 1 
 
 3 
 
 3 
 
 1200 
 
 28 
 
 Perseverance 
 
 E. Ellis and others 
 
 82 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 1800 
 
 30 
 
 New 
 
 J. Hirst and others 
 
 — 
 
 — 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 1200 
 
 24 
 
 Quarry 
 
 David Sclioles 
 
 12 
 
 — 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 800 
 
 29 
 
 Queen 
 
 J. Ross and others 
 
 16 
 
 — 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 200 
 
 18 
 
 Hollow Top 
 
 Watson, Rhodes, & Co. 
 
 8 
 
 — 
 
 — 
 
 — 
 
 — 
 
 45 
 
 Wellington 
 
 Thomas Briggs 
 
 20 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 1200 
 
 21 
 
 Bank 
 
 James Bradley 
 
 12 
 
 — 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 400 
 
 12 ' 
 
 The order of the trade of Morley, seems to have been, first, 
 the domestic woollen manufacture, next, the making of wool 
 
 u 
 
G2 
 
 goods, known as “ German twills ” for the German market? 
 afterwards the production of haberdashery cloths, which for a 
 longtime, gave the name of “dashers” to the makers. These 
 latter cloths were made principally for the American market, 
 and were very much similar to the cloths now made, except in 
 being made with woollen instead of cotton warp A few super¬ 
 fine cloths were made about this time, and then followed the 
 present manufacture of the union cloths. To the industry, 
 prudently conducted enterprise, and perseverance, of the few 
 manufacturers who under no ordinary difficulties prosecuted 
 this latter manufacture, are the working population of “ Our 
 Village” at this day, indebted for the enjoyment of comforts 
 unknown to their forefathers. Verily, if he who makes “ two 
 blades of grass grow, where only one did before ” is to be 
 esteemed as a benefactor to his country, we may well regard 
 with admiration and praise, the men who have made seven 
 thousand people happy, where formerly there were scarcely as 
 many hundreds, and these dragging on a miserable half 
 civilized kind of life, with few or any of the comforts which 
 may now be found in almost every cottage in the village. 
 We wish the pioneers of the union manufacture still living in 
 Morley, the pleasure of witnessing still further happy results 
 of their enterprise. 
 
 Before leaving this subject we purpose to give a short 
 sketch of the various processes connected with the production 
 of union cloths, We do this partly for the benefit of the 
 uninitiated in these matters, but more with a view to mark the 
 improvements which have been made, from time to time, in 
 the machinery by which these processes are carried on. We 
 shall not, however, attempt to give anything like a detailed 
 description of each separate machine, as such description, 
 however correct, would fail, without illustrations, to give the 
 reader any idea, of the various complex and ingenious con¬ 
 trivances, to which reference will be made. To any who have 
 the opportunity and wish for a better acquaintance with our 
 

SPRINGFIELD MILL MORLEY. 
 
G3 
 
 manufacture, we would recommend an hour to be spent in any 
 of our mills, where — 
 
 “ By gentle steps 
 
 Uprais’d from room to room, we slowly walk, 
 
 And view with wonder and with silent joy 
 The sprightly scene ; where many of busy hand, 
 
 Where swifts, cards, wheels, and looms, with motion quick, 
 
 And ever murmuring sound, th’ unwonted sense 
 Wrap in surprise. 
 
 * :fc ifc ifc * 
 
 One intent 
 
 O’erlooks the work; the carded wool he sees 
 Is smoothly lapp’d around the cylinders, 
 
 Which gently turning, yield it to yon row 
 Of upright spindles, which, with rapid whirl 
 Spin out, in long extent, an even twine.” 
 
 But, we must first say a word or two, with regard to the raw 
 material, or principal commodities consumed in the processes 
 we are about to describe. Wool, then, enters largely into the 
 manufacture, and is principally of Australian production. 
 Most of the manufacturers obtain their supply from the wool 
 merchants in Leeds ; but others obtain it from the brokers in 
 London, who hold periodical sales by auction, several times in 
 the course of the year. German wool was, at one time, the 
 only kind used here, but the Australian wool is cheaper and 
 better adapted for the present trade. Mungo is next in order, 
 and a friend of ours has furnished us with the following 
 interesting description of the material from wliich it is derived, 
 “Let us” he says “suppose that we have a heap of old clothes 
 and rags to deal with, and the supposition is certainly not so 
 disagreeable as the reality. This will consist of a motley lot 
 of materials ; sailor’s jackets and pilot coats which may have 
 been soaked with many a sou’ wester; threadbare, though fine 
 cloth, which may in its day have figured at a drawing room or 
 aristrocratic wedding; dubious tinted rags that when in their 
 prime sat without a wrinkle on some athletic form as a green 
 
64 
 
 cut-away Newmarket coat; cloaks and mantles that may have 
 sheltered a shivering beauty, possibly a duchess, alter a 
 brilliant assembly. Then we catch glimpses of cast off stock¬ 
 ings, knitted with patient industry in an Irish cabin, while 
 young Phelim or Thady is kept slumbering by a low plaintive 
 crooning ; or wrought by the deft fingers of a Highland lassie 
 up among the heather, and carolling some tender ditty of 
 Robbie Burns. Some of these are reduced to such a fragmen¬ 
 tary condition that they almost realize the capital Irish illus¬ 
 tration of nothing, “ a footless stocking without a leg. ” 
 Tailor’s “ cabbage ” and tailor’s clippings are there, and any 
 thing indeed, of which wool forms, or is fondly supposed to 
 form, a part. ” The Rag Machine consists of a swift, which 
 contains some twelve thousand teeth ; this swift performs six or 
 seven hundred revolutions per minute, and would travel, if 
 running over the ground in a straight line, at the rate of 
 eighty miles an hour. 
 
 In addition to the two million pounds of rags now torn up 
 annually in Morley, large quantities of foreign mungo are 
 used. Germany is the principal country from which this 
 supply is obtained, and the mungoes are as a rule, of a 
 superior character. Fud, to which reference has already 
 been made ; Willey-locks, the small fine locks of wool that 
 fall through the grates in the process of willeying ; German 
 flocks, the waste in the finishing of the fine German cloths ; 
 Nippings, the refuse of the spinning mules ; Olive and 
 Gallipoli oils for softening the fibres of wool, and causing 
 them to work more freely ; all these and some others of less 
 importance, enter into the manufacture of Union Cloths. 
 
 Premising then, that we have decided on the proportions 
 of each of the foregoing, which we purpose to use, we now 
 have them laid upon the floor of the willey-house, preparatory to 
 the operation of blending or mixing together. Thirty yeai s 
 ago, the weavers and spinners were called from their own 
 work to assist in this operation, and with the exception of an 
 
65 
 
 allowance of beer, received no'remuneration; but “blending” 
 is now done by persons appointed solely for the purpose. The 
 materials having been mixed, are passed through the willey— 
 a machine with coarse teeth, and having grates to allow of the 
 refuse or “fud” to pass through, during the revolutions of 
 the machine—they are then put through the “teazer,” a 
 machine with swift and rollers, of great use in opening the 
 wool and mixing the materials well together. The “willeyed 
 wool,” as it is now called, is then taken to the scribbler—a 
 formidable looking machine, thirty to forty feet in length— 
 and the nimble “minder,” having weighed the proper quan¬ 
 tity spreads it on the “server” with precision and exactness; 
 it is then received by two small rollers, covered with cards, 
 and revolving round and round many other rollers, large and 
 small: the many million teeth separate almost every hair from 
 its fellow, and it then emerges in the form of an endless 
 “sliver” or rope, to feed the carder, which is done by one of 
 Apperley’s patents,—a machine which dispenses with the 
 minder and does the work far more efficiently. The carder is, 
 in all respects, except size, similar to the scribbler, and the 
 material, having passed through this process, is received by 
 the “ condensor, ”—a machine of very recent introduction 
 into the Morley manufacture, and which, by preparing the 
 wool in the form of threads, dispenses with the billy, and 
 makes it ready for the spinner. As we have already said, 
 spinning began with the distaff and spindle, then the spinning 
 wheel, next, the jenny, and afterwards, the mule. This 
 machine, for spinning the weft on to the bobbins, is both simple 
 and ingenious; and in the case of the self-acting mule, its 
 motions are unique. The work is much better done than by 
 hand on the jenny, or the ordinary mule. 
 
 The next process, weaving, constitutes one of the^principal 
 features in the manufacture, as it has done since the days of 
 Job, who refers to the weaver’s shuttle. Hand-loom weaving 
 is as old, almost as the hills; but with regard to Unions, its 
 
66 
 
 day is far advanced, and the power-loom is destined, ere long, 
 to drive out of our village the last remnant of this old and 
 honourable calling. These power-looms are chiefly attended 
 to by young females, who earn from ten to fifteen shillings 
 weekly—a rate of payment which offers a strong inducement 
 to them to follow this calling. Dyer, thus describes this 
 operation:— 
 
 '• From hand to hand 
 
 The thready shuttle glides along the lines, 
 
 Which open to the woof, and shut alternate; 
 
 And ever and anon, to firm the work, 
 
 Against the web is driv’n the noisy frame. 
 
 From hand to hand 
 Again, across the lines of opening, glides 
 The thready shuttle, while the web apace 
 Increases.” 
 
 The weft and warp having now assumed, with the aid of 
 the loom, the character of cloth, it is placed in the hands of 
 the “burler”—a female who, by the use of the “irons,” or 
 tweezers, removes from the surface of the cloth all inequalities 
 or irregularities made in the weaving—and it is then ready 
 for the fulling stocks, 
 
 “ Next from the slacken’d beam, the cloth unroll’d 
 Near some clear river—Aire or Calder— 
 
 Is by the noisy fulling mill receiv’d, 
 
 Where tumbling waters turn enormous wheels; 
 
 Where hammers, rising and descending, learn 
 To imitate the industry of man.” 
 
 The fulling stock is of ancient invention; no one can tell when 
 it was first used in this country, nor by whom it was intro¬ 
 duced. It was in use in Spain a long time ago, and is men¬ 
 tioned by Cervantes, when he calls the machines “Fulling 
 hammers,” which shows that “fullers” were then used. The 
 “stocks” still in use in Morley are heavy cumbrous machines, 
 requiring great power to carry them. They are likely soon to 
 
67 
 
 make way for the “milling machine,” which thickens or 
 mills the cloth to the required substance, with less waste and 
 loss of weight. Sixty years ago, the fulling of cloth was only 
 carried on in places where water-power was plentiful, and the 
 Morley clothiers of that day had to prepare the cloth at home, 
 and then take it to Hunslet, Harewood, or more generally, to 
 Greenwood’s mill at Dewsbury. 
 
 We have listened with great interest, to the tales of some 
 clothiers when speaking of those milling days of yore. The 
 last-named mill was situate in a lovely spot, surrounded by 
 fine meadows and scenery; and near to the mill ran the river, 
 which furnished a stream by which the ponderous water wheel 
 was turned. The clothier was glad, rather than otherwise, to 
 make a journey to this spot: it was a kind of relief to the 
 monotony of home,—a change of scenery, and made him 
 intimate with a number of boon companions; for he had to 
 stay sometimes two or three days until his turn came, and he 
 could carry the cloth hack in a milled state. In the Fulling 
 mills we have an instance of the origin of surnames. In the 
 earliest period of their existence, they were called in these 
 parts, “Walk-mills.” Hence a person who followed the trade 
 of fuller received the name of Walker, and this name was also 
 applied to the material used by him in cleaning the cloth, 
 which is still known in Morley as “ Walker’s-earth.” After 
 the cloth is milled, it is ready for the finisher, and this branch 
 of the trade, once carried on at Morley, has now, as well as 
 the dyeing, left the village, principally for the reason, that 
 water of quantity and quality, necessary for these processes, has 
 not for many years been attainable. This defect, we are glad 
 to say, is about to be remedied, by the construction of water¬ 
 works, when we shall, doubtless, soon find the manufacturer 
 alive to the advantages to he derived from carrying out, under 
 one general supervision, the whole process of manufacture. 
 
 The processes of dyeing and finishing, which include raising 
 the cloth to bring the wool to the surface ; boiling with steam, 
 
68 
 
 to produce a bright and glossy face ; dyeing into various colours ; 
 cutting, brushing and steaming the cloths; the hydraulic 
 pressing to produce firmness; all these, we shall pass over, as 
 they are not at present identified with the trade of Morley. 
 
 Having been passed at the “Finishers,” the cloths are sent 
 to the warehouse of the owner, and there shown by him to the 
 merchant, who, after purchasing, orders them to be sent to his 
 warehouse, that they may be measured and perched. The 
 business of measuring, allowances, deducting off the odd pence, 
 discounts for measure and cash, less precisely defined than 
 might be desired; all this “general custom of the trade” 
 having been satisfactorily settled, the manufacturer receives his 
 money, and is ready for another venture. 
 
 In taking leave of the trade of “ Our Village,” we cannot 
 do so without drawing the attention of the manufacturers to 
 the want of a Chamber of Commerce, similar to those in other 
 manufacturing towns, where they have been of essential service. 
 We want a Chamber of Commerce to draw public attention, 
 and also, by association with similar bodies, the attention of 
 Government, to encourage the cultivation of those materials— 
 cotton and wool, for instance—which are so essential to our 
 trade. Such a Chamber would also be useful in a local sense. 
 The questions of local postal arrangements, railway facilities 
 and charges, supply of raw material, improvements in ma¬ 
 chinery, and adaptation of the manufacture to the requirements 
 of the time, would afford scope for an interchange of opinions 
 likely to be of benefit to all in the trade. 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
OLD HOUSE NEAR THE POST OFFICE., MORLEY. 
 
RAMBLE III. 
 
 “ We list the legends of onr happy home, 
 Linked as they come with every tender tie, 
 Memorials dear of youth and infancy.” 
 
 Scott. 
 
 “ Whatever strengthens our local attachments is favourable both to individual 
 and national character. Our home, our birth-place, our native land,—think 
 for a while what the virtues are which arise out of the feelings connected 
 with these words, and if you have any intelleotual eyes, you will then per¬ 
 ceive the connection between topography and patriotism. Show me the man 
 who cares no more for one place than another, and I will show you in that 
 same person one who loves nothing but himself.” 
 
 The Doctor, 
 
 Wishing continued and ever-increasing success to onr manu¬ 
 facture, we will take our leave of Alhion Mill, and resume our 
 walk. A few steps brings us to an Old House (6), near the 
 Post Office, on the gateway leading to which, there was till 
 lately the following inscription :—“Porta patens esto, Nulli 
 cl/audaris honesto ,”—0 gate he thou open; thou mayest not 
 be shut to any honest man. The first half was upon the 
 pillar of the gateway to the left as we enter; this has been 
 pulled down, but the other pillar, containing the latter half of 
 the inscription, still remains. Tradition says, that Mr. Pick¬ 
 ering, at one time minister of the Old Chapel, lived here, and 
 we are informed that after him, and probably till 1695, 
 when he died, one Wyther, an attorney, who lies buried at 
 Batley. Next, probably one Rothwell, a schoolmaster, and 
 after him, some of the Rayner family. Since that time, one 
 Trenholme, a schoolmaster, who gave to many still living, the 
 education—if it could he called such—which just sufficed to 
 meet the requirements of their daily life; and after this 
 person, Mr. Overend, a well-to-do manufacturer, and others, 
 
 i 
 
70 
 
 till, at the present, it has come into the occnpation of an 
 important, though recently appointed, public servant, viz: the 
 lamplighter. Opposite this relic of former days is the village 
 Post Office, (7) formerly the residence of Samuel Clark, a 
 drysalter and well-to-do farmer, who was of some importance 
 in his day, as appears by the part he took in town’s affairs. 
 He served the office of Chief Constable in 1760, Churchwar¬ 
 den in 1776, and Overseer of the Poor in 1786. Given to 
 hospitality, this village worthy was accustomed to receive the 
 visits of his neighbours in the old farm-house. In this place, 
 with (in winter) its warm, roaring fire, and where sundry 
 flitches of bacon, oaten cake, and hard wheaten bread bur¬ 
 dened the hooks and “creels” of the kitchen ceiling—there, 
 sitting on the high-backed settle near the fire, with pot and 
 pipe, would they discuss on parochial, farming, and other 
 matters. A tombstone in the Old New Chapel Yard records 
 that he died on the 22nd of January, 1816, aged eighty-one. 
 The old house has undergone many internal alterations to 
 adapt it to its present use. Mr. Cowbum, the present post¬ 
 master, has held the office for near thirty years, previous to 
 which, one Betty Hartley acted as post-mistress in a humble 
 one-storey cottage, on Banks Hill, now used by John Brown 
 as a blacksmith’s shop. The letters at this time were called 
 for every night and morning by John Cowburn, who, coming 
 from Adwalton, collected them from all the villages on his way 
 to and from Leeds. In the times preceeding these, it was the 
 custom for them to be collected from every house by a per¬ 
 son called, the “Foot Postman,” who, walking through the 
 village, blew a horn, the sounds of which, when heard, brought 
 forth the people to him with their letters, or prepared them to 
 be on the look-out for some long-expected communication. 
 A writer says, “The family of the ‘Hornblowers’ was 
 pretty numerous in these old days, and one of the number 
 at Morley was the village postman. It is a usage as old as 
 Shakespeare’s days, but quite discontinued here now. In the 
 
71 
 
 Merchant of Venice —Act v, Scene i, Lancelot says, “ Tell 
 him there’s a hom come from my master full of good news.” 
 
 We are now at the end of Church Street, at the junction of 
 Chapel Hill with Banks Hill, and proceeding a little way 
 down the former we find ourselves in the neighbourhood of a 
 grave-yard, in a situation that would strike a stranger as most 
 inappropriate, surrounded, as it is, by the busy turmoil of 
 every-day life. We think it a fit and becoming expression of 
 regard to the dead, that the place of their interment should be 
 as far as possible removed from the profane intrusion of the 
 thoughtless, and the unhallowed tread of romping youth, whose 
 irreverent sports we have often seen carried on in this sacred 
 area. 
 
 “ I know it matters not, when that I’m dead, 
 
 Where the frail form with dust shall mingled he; 
 
 Yet soothes in life to think no being’s tread 
 
 Shall haunt my grave, who felt nor thought with me.” 
 
 This neglected spot is paradoxically called the “ Old New 
 Chapel Yard,” for reasons which will be seen hereafter. It 
 is now rarely used as a place of burial; it is in the possession 
 of the Anglican Church, but formerly belonged to the Dis- 
 enters, and the graves are the resting-places of men who little 
 dreamt of the change that awaited this—to them, hallowed 
 ground. 
 
 On one side of the graveyard stands a Building (8) now 
 occupied as dwelling-houses, that just one hundred years ago, 
 was built for the use of a church and congregation, whose 
 descendants now worship in Rehoboth Chapel. In the year 
 1768, when Morley was a small village, and when the Old 
 Presbyterian Chapel was the only place of public worship, the 
 Rev. Thomas Morgan, a native of Carmarthen in Wales, and 
 known there as the “Welsh Cicero,” was invited to the vacant 
 pulpit at the Old Chapel. After considerable hesitation on his 
 part and not a little pressure from a part of the church, he 
 accepted their invitation and came to reside in Morley. The 
 cause of Christianity in Morley at this time, was in a languishing 
 
72 
 
 condition, and the congregation at the Old Chapel mnch 
 divided in their opinions of the truth. But amongst them 
 
 there was a small number who took the opportunity of 
 
 Mr. Morgan’s settlement to leave the place, and began to 
 assemble together for worship, in a hired room on Banks Hill. 
 The following is the substance of the license granted to them 
 to meet in this place. “ This is to certify whom it may 
 concern, that the dwelling-house (and its premises) of Joseph 
 Webster, of Morley, in the parish of Batley, in the county and 
 diocese of York, was this day entered in the registry of his 
 
 Grace the Lord Archbishop of York, as a place of public 
 
 worship of Almighty God, for independent protestant dissenters. 
 Witness my hand this 23rd day of May, 1764. Richard 
 Mackley, deputy registrar.” The word dissenters in this 
 license, can scarcely be said to properly apply, in so far as it 
 meant dissent from the established church in Morley, for it 
 must be borne in mind that the Anglican Church had no 
 standing in Morley at that time, and indeed was not repre¬ 
 sented by any place or form of worship here for more than 
 two centuries previous to the year 1838. 
 
 In the licensed house to which we have alluded—did this 
 first body of congregational dissenters worship, till the follow¬ 
 ing year, when the second Earl of Dartmouth gave to them “ a 
 rood of waste land for the purpose of building thereon an 
 Independent Chapel and making a burial ground.” On that 
 piece of land the people erected the “ Old New Chapel ” 
 as it was called, and a small dwelling-house for the minister. 
 No account is preserved of the opening services ; but they 
 took place in 1765 when the church was formed, and shortly 
 after the Rev. Mr. Parish was invited to the pastorate. He 
 was ordained in the chapel on the 20th of November 1766 ; the 
 following ministers took pari in the ceremony; the Rev. 
 James Crossley, of Booth, the Rev. Titus Knight, of Halifax, and 
 the Rev. John Edwards, of Leeds. Mr. Parish continued to 
 preach in the New Chapel till his death, which took place in 
 
78 
 
 1782. In the year following, he was succeeded by the Rev. 
 Joseph Sowden, who remained till the year 1798, when he 
 removed to Booth, in the parish of Halifax. In the same year 
 the Rev. Thomas Clough, a most worthy and excellent 
 minister, was ordained Pastor, and he occupied the pulpit 
 for thirty-one years, till his death, which took place on the 
 16th day of February, 1820. During Mr. Clough’s ministry, 
 a new gallery was erected in the chapel. The Rev. John 
 Cones, in 1820, became the minister ; but he left in 1822, 
 and the pastorate was vacant till 1825, when a call was given 
 to Mi’. John Heselton, then a student in Airedale College. 
 Mi\ Heselton accepted the call; but was only permitted to 
 remain with his people for one year and a half, and for three 
 or four months of that time he was unable to take part in any 
 public service. He departed this life, much lamented, on 
 the 12th of January 1827, in the twenty-sixth year of his 
 age. During his short pastorate, the congregation expended 
 near three hundred pounds in repairing the chapel, and 
 enlarging the house of the minister, never entertaining a 
 thought of being disturbed in their possession of the premises. 
 
 The Rev. John Calvert, of Colne, having accepted a call 
 to the place, continued to occupy the pulpit till 1882, when, 
 in that year a vestry meeting (as town’s meetings were then 
 called) was held, for the purpose of laying a rate for the new 
 Church at Morley. Three gentlemen not connected with the 
 established church, went to the meeting, when they were told 
 by the chairman, that they had no business there, and were 
 ordered to withdraw. After they had gone away, the 
 chairman and about six or seven others laid a rate of 
 threepence in the pound, which caused great dissatisfaction 
 in the village ; and the ratepayers, not having a voice in the 
 laying of the rate, avowed their determination not to pay it. 
 The Churchwardens summoned two of the Trustees of the 
 Independent Chapel to appear before the Magistrates at 
 Bradford, and it was there determined that the rate had not 
 
74 
 
 been legally laid and the proceedings against'them quashed. 
 Soon after this, it was reported in the village, that the chapel 
 was to be taken from the Dissenters. It was known that the 
 estate on which the chapel had been erected, was entailed; 
 but the people at that time had no fear of losing it, as the 
 Earl of Dartmouth had promised it should never be disturbed 
 so long as it was used as a place of worship. In the month of 
 July 1833, the minister and trustees received a notice to quit 
 the premises ; and when the trustees waited upon his Lord¬ 
 ship’s steward he determined that they must pay a rent of 
 £50 per annum, if they continued to occupy the chapel any 
 longer. The church and congregation immediately and 
 unanimously resolved to give up the chapel and dwelling- 
 house, and do their utmost to get a chapel that they might 
 safely call their own, and where they could meet to worship 
 God according to the dictates of their own conscience, with¬ 
 out any one threatening, or daring to make them afraid. They 
 bought a plot of land on Dawson’s Hill, and on that site, they 
 speedily erected a place of worship—plain and decent in its 
 exterior—but suited to the taste of those who were to occupy 
 it. In going there, the only thing about which they hesitated 
 for a moment was, whether they should let the graves of then- 
 fathers pass into the hands of strangers. Possession of the 
 chapel having been obtained, by the steward of the |Earl of 
 Dartmouth, the interior was soon altered; the gallery or 
 upper part was converted into a news-room, and the_ lower 
 portion was converted into dwelling-houses. 
 
 Ketracing our steps a little, we will wend our way over the 
 Banks Hill, starting from the Old Cottage (9) already 
 referred to, as formerly being the village post office, and which 
 is also worthy of note, as having been the dwelling-place of 
 two Morley centenarians, viz: Tamar Wood, who died here in 
 the early part of the present century, at the age of one 
 hundred and four, and Mally Hartley, who died at Cinderhill, 
 on the twenty-fifth of February, 1825, in her hundred and 
 
75 
 
 fourth year. These are not the only cases of longevity in 
 Morley, for in 1716, Widow Foss died, aged one hundred and 
 fourteen years; and in 1857, Widow Smith, grandmother to 
 the author, died, aged ninety-three, having lived for sixty 
 years on Banks Hill, in the same house in which she died. 
 From a local paper of 1825, we have copied the following:— • 
 “In the ancient and romantic village of Morley, and upon a 
 spot called immemorially, Troy Hill, there are a few cottages, 
 chiefly occupied by twelve persons, whose ages, united, make 
 eight hundred and ninety-eight years. But the wonder was 
 greater, till lately, when two persons died, one of whom was 
 ninety-four or ninety-five and the other ninety or so. Three per¬ 
 sons,however, have lived thereabouts who have more than attained 
 their hundredth year.” On Saturday, Nov. 12th, 1859, Wil¬ 
 liam Chappell died in his eighty-fifth year;—in his youthful 
 days he served in Egypt under Sir Ralph Abercrombie, from 
 1797 to 1801, and in the following year obtained his discharge. 
 Another link between this and the past generation was aiso 
 broken, by the death of David Hirst, a few months ago, at the 
 age of eighty-seven years. Well known in our village was the 
 form of this old man, who, in his youthful days, was a very 
 enthusiast in musical matters, and countless stories are 
 remembered by our elder villagers of Hirst and his fiddle. 
 How, in the olden times, when Yorkshire was famous for its 
 choral singing, our village fiddler, accompanied by Tommy 
 Blakeley and others, would attend all the oratorios for miles 
 round; and having indulged, perhaps too freely, in the York¬ 
 shire hospitality, (then generous to an extreme), they would, 
 with their darling instruments, through some obliquity of 
 vision or other cause, come to grief, as they were plodding 
 their way homeward. Whatever opinions our villagers held 
 with respect to the professional abilities of old Dave, as he was 
 generally called, no one could have a higher opinion of them 
 than he had. He looked upon himself as a very Paganini on 
 catgut. He was very much disposed to be fault-finding with 
 
76 
 
 those amongst his musical associates who did not devote them¬ 
 selves with the same assiduity to musical acquirements as he 
 himself did. 
 
 Our village, in Hirst’s early days, like nearly every town 
 and village in Yorkshire, had its musical club, which in recent 
 times has been dignified by the name of Choral or Philhar¬ 
 monic Society. This musical society had numerous members, 
 for at that time many families lived here whose every member 
 was a musician, and oratorios were much oftener given in 
 those days than now, for this well-disciplined body did not fear 
 to encounter the difficult works of Handel and Haydn. The 
 musical proclivities of our ancestors seem to have died with 
 them, with one or two exceptions ; for Morley, we are sorry to 
 say, in musical matters, is far behind many neighbouring 
 villages, and certainly will not bear comparison with the Mor¬ 
 ley of twenty or thirty years ago. Mr. Hirst was the last of 
 the coterie of which he and Blakeley formed no insignificant 
 part. When a boy, Hirst had the fortune, on two occasions, 
 to be selected to hold the horse of John Wesley, the founder 
 of Methodism, when that distinguished minister visited Morley. 
 He well remembered the yellow painted, old-fashioned chaise 
 in which sat Wesley, with his fine head of long white hair and 
 venerable countenance. Mr. Hirst lived to see his three sons 
 all become eminent members of the musical profession, and 
 holding lucrative appointments as organists in the largest 
 seaport in the kingdom, and the declining years of the old 
 man were smoothed by the kindness and considerateness of 
 those who owed their position to his passionate love for music. 
 
 The Banks Hill of the last century was a very different place 
 to what it is now, for on the left of the present road, extending 
 from the top of Chapel Hill to the Leadhouse Pump, there 
 were then long lines of “hanging hedges,” as they were 
 called, and “tenters ” ; the former used for drying cloth, and 
 the latter for tentering or stretching the same to the proper 
 width. On the right and near the bottom of the Old Fold, 
 
77 
 
 there was formerly a very old house and barn, alluded to by 
 Scatcherd who says, “ Joseph Crowther had been a corporal 
 in the parliamentary army or under Cromwell, and to him 
 when at Morley, the ‘ Agitators ’ resorted in a house on Bank’s 
 hills, occupied by Crowthers, probably of the same family, and 
 still (1830) in the possession of a descendant. ” 
 
 The Old Fold on Banks Hill was, a century ago, occupied by 
 an extensive malt-kiln, and an old-fashioned countiy inn; the 
 latter stood near the draw-well that still remains, and 
 the region beyond, as far as the “ Bundocks ” was then 
 greenfields ; but the spirit of Utilitarianism has changed them 
 into streets and squares. 
 
 There is another House (10) on Banks Hill, which it is 
 not unlikely was built during the “ Oliver days,” and to it in 
 front was a pleasant garden, now used as a depot for terra 
 cotta manufactures. The house contains good specimens 
 of old oak carving and panelling. 
 
 Mr. John Gisburn, a name that is well known in Morley, 
 and has been in our village for more than a century associated 
 with the art of healing, formerly lived in a house, near 
 the last mentioned. “ He was for many years the only 
 surgeon and apothecary in the neighbourhood. He was a 
 facetious man, and skilful in his profession; whatever were 
 his failings, they hurt nobody but himself, and his loss was 
 generally lamented.” He was father to John Gisburn who 
 died a few years ago, and grandfather to the village surgeon 
 who still honourably bears the name. 
 
 A little beyond this point, nestling in a comer, we find a 
 House (11) that stands intimately associated with the times 
 when “ good broad cloth ” was manufactured in Morley. 
 Here lived for many years Mr. John Webster, or “ Maister 
 John ” as the villagers called him, who in his day was the 
 principal employer of labour in the village, and for a long 
 time, was almost the only manufacturer of “ superfine cloths ” 
 in the district. To him at various periods was apprenticed 
 
 K 
 
78 
 
 the sons of the more respectable inhabitants, who were 
 intended for the cloth trade, and the Asquiths, Dixons, and 
 others, learned their business lessons from him. At his 
 death he left behind him four sons, Thomas, Nathaniel, 
 Samuel and John, who inheriting their father’s business 
 habits, each acquired a competency, and at the same time 
 contributed, in no small degree, to the prosperity of their na¬ 
 tive village. All were Christian men, active in the Sunday 
 school, supporters of every charitable institution in the 
 village, and ever ready in any way, to promote the well¬ 
 being of their neighbours and numerous work-people. With 
 the retirement from business of the firm of N. Webster and 
 Sons, a few years ago, departed the fine cloth trade of Morley 
 giving place to one of a far different character; but which 
 seems in every way likely to enrich its followers, as did the 
 former. 
 
 The large house elevated far above its neighbours and 
 known as Bank House, (12) cannot fail to strike a stranger 
 as occupying, (considering the size and character of it) a 
 rather undesirable position, standing as it does, surrounded 
 by tall chimnies, and overlooking a thickly populated part of 
 the village. But it must be borne in mind, that these draw¬ 
 backs did not exist when Mr. Samuel Webster had the house 
 built, nearly fifty years ago. Then it was situate in a most 
 pleasant locality; with the exception of a large factory, which 
 required no tall chimney; but was filled with “jennies” 
 and other machinery employed in the spinning of Scotch Yam, 
 which at that time was a very lucrative business. The 
 front overlooked a scene which few English country villages 
 possessed. The Old Chapel occupied the knoll of the hill 
 opposite; to the left, were the woods of Middleton, and the 
 Common of large extent; while on the right, amidst a colony 
 of rooks, stood “ The Hall.” In the valley opposite the 
 principal thoroughfare through the village could be seen, 
 winding its way up through tall trees ; which at a point on 
 
PROSPECT HOUSE, YEW TREE HOUSE, & BANK HOUSE, MORLEY. 
 
79 
 
 the right broke off into a lane, on one side of which, were the 
 fish ponds and orchards, and on the other, the house and 
 grounds of the “ village squire. ” 
 
 A little beyond this mansion, is Yew Tree House, (13) 
 supposed to have been built about the middle of the seven¬ 
 teenth century, by one Richard Huntington, from whom it was 
 purchased by Miss Waller. This lady lies buried in the 
 Old Chapel-yard ; and a tombstone erected over her remains 
 bears the following inscription :— 
 
 “ In Memory of Dorothy, daughter of the celebrated Edmund 
 Waller, of Beaconsfield, in the county of Bucks, who died Jan, 
 18th, 1717, in the 61st year of her age.” 
 
 Miss Waller bequeathed Yew Tree House to the Rev. T. Aired, 
 at whose death, it was purchased by one of the Rayner family, 
 and subsequently passed into the possession of Dr. Swinden, 
 a “ disciple of Galen,” who was held in high and deserved 
 respect in his day. We well remember witnessing the 
 funeral of this good man, who was cut off in April, 1841, 
 in the meridian of his usefulness, and closed a life that was, 
 with slight exceptions, a continued series of that benevolence 
 which forms so bright an ornament of the profession he 
 adorned by his skill and ennobled by his disinterestedness. 
 His advice was at all times freely at the command of the 
 sick and suffering poor ; to whom he was ever kind during 
 his practice in Morley; no pecuniary motive could ever 
 induce him to forget their claims upon him. His good 
 deeds were more abundant in those times of privation and 
 distress, which the operatives of the village were called to 
 pass through, and which he endeavoured to alleviate in every 
 way that he could ; and these are still remembered by those 
 who profited by his advice and experience, and who also 
 were the recipients of his private bounty. He suggested 
 and carried out the formation in the village of a society for 
 the mutual improvement of adults ; and possessing a thorough 
 knowledge of Chemistry, he was never happier then when 
 
80 
 
 endeavouring to make himself understood by the humblest 
 capacity. He was also an excellent lecturer on other subjects 
 connected with Nature and Art, and possessing a happy 
 and easy manner of elucidation, the imperfectly informed 
 operative listened to him with profit and delight. 
 
 A few years before his death, his name went forth to the 
 literary world as the author of “An attempt to prove that Lord 
 Chatham was Junius,” and we may infer from the following 
 review by the Leeds Mercury, of Dec. 16th, 1880, that the 
 attempt was not without merit. It says, “Dr. Swinden has 
 added that to Chatham’s fame which will give it additional 
 brilliancy He has neither advanced false facts, nor reasoned 
 falsely from true principles. We may apply to him the 
 beautiful language of Chatham quoted in the preface, ‘ The 
 evidence which truth carries with it, is superior to all argument, 
 it neither wants the support, nor dreads the opposition, of the 
 greatest abilities ’ We are persuaded that Mr. Swinden’s 
 evidence is that of truth.” It would have been well, when the 
 worthy Doctor died, if his mantle had fallen on some worthy 
 successor, endowed with the same intellectual greatness and 
 manly worth. A local poet, inscribed the following lines, to 
 the memory of this village worthy, 
 
 “ Though vain the storied urn and poet’s lay, 
 
 We mourn as men when genius dies away; 
 
 We feel our loss of intellectual worth, 
 
 We know a glorious light hath left the earth. 
 
 His voice is in our ears, his form we see 
 Flitting before us, wheresoe’er we be; 
 
 And, in the past's bright mirror, as they rise, 
 
 His nobler virtues we more dearly prize. 
 
 What though the solemn bell from day to day, 
 
 Proclaims aloud that fellow worms decay ; 
 
 When gifted minds to death’s cold mandate bend, 
 
 All nature mourns an universal friend.” 
 
 A marble tablet in St. Peter’s church, records that he died 
 on the 11th of April, 1841, aged 51 years, and Agnes, his 
 
PROVIDENCE MILL, NIORLEY. 
 
81 
 
 wife, on the lGth day of February, 1845, aged 03 years. 
 
 A few yards beyond Yew Tree House, and on the same 
 side of the road stands Prospect House, (14) once the 
 residence of one Captain Webster, a soldier, and at the same 
 time, an extensive glue manufacturer, whose works occupied 
 an extensive area at the rear of the house, but these are all 
 swept away, and in their place, there stands a woollen 
 mill. Captain Webster, when dressed in uniform, looked 
 “ every inch a soldier,” and seventy years ago, was at the head 
 of as fine a body of volunteers as Yorkshire could produce. 
 ’Twas at the time when the revolutionary war broke out with 
 France, that our gallant Captain and others, the inhabitants of 
 this village, distinguished themselves by their loyalty and 
 patriotism. Our Morley cavalry, raised and equipped without 
 any expense to the country, it is said, was no disgrace, to the 
 numerous regiments who were reviewed by General Cameron, 
 on Chapeltown Moor, on the 25th of June, 1795. The 
 martial spirit of the men of Morley, seems to have departed, 
 for the present Volunteer movement throughout England, has 
 met with no response here. 
 
 Having noticed all that is of interest on Banks Hill, we will 
 walk briskly along, casting a passing glance, at a row of straw- 
 thatched, whitewashed cottages, on our right, which speak of 
 “bygone days,” till we reach an old Farm-house (15) on the 
 road side, near to some fields ; through these, a narrow path, 
 leads to the neighbouring village of Gildersome. Farmer 
 Robinson once lived here, and kept numerous horses, and had 
 ponderous waggons, with which, he used to carry the timber 
 that was cut in the neighbouring woods, to various places in 
 the West Riding. He also, as circumstances required, made 
 journeys with his team, to London, a very difficult task at that 
 time. 
 
 A little to the right of this farm-house, on Victoria Road, 
 stands Providence Mill, (15a) the property, and till recently, 
 in the occupation of Mr. Daniel Hinchcliff, of Low Wortley. 
 
■i—5 gentleman, ■when resident in Morley, possessed consider* 
 si-e local mrinence. and served all the variors Town's offices 
 «■— ch —? neighbours eonld confer npon him. Ent it is chienv 
 as an enconragemeni to onr young people that we alinde to 
 dir. Ejnehclin. as an instance of a man. m; tv the force of 
 natnral aihihes. nnaided. save by uprightness and plodding 
 —mstry. raised h im self from a humble sphere, to take his 
 stann as one of cur vmane wormies. and earned a good name 
 amongst ms townsmen, who felt regret at his recent removal 
 to another locality. 
 
 Eetracing onr steps, we come t: XebssexwLase. onc-e noted, 
 with otters in me neighbourhood. for being the resort of tithes, 
 now rarely seen in this neighbourhood. In former times. »as 
 witt Booms Late and ethers disputes have arisen as to who 
 shoma seep it in repair. The following entry we iaad in the 
 old ■ • T own's Booh ”:— 
 
 TThereas. .James Esisteal, and Samuel Tozzarl Surveyors of 
 the Hiomn;. h&Ting received a threatening letter, by the order 
 cf Sir John Booth, in order to compel the Ttwnslix of hlorley. 
 to Common and rah the Boad passable in that Lane, eahei 
 heepshaw Lane, at the Phhlick expense of the said Township of 
 Morley. 
 
 tLee whose yantes are heretmto subscribed being met together 
 at a Pahhek Town's hleetiar. the loth of December. 17-51. Do 
 unanimously agree to mhhstand the sail Sir John Booth or any 
 other Person, or Persons, in case Law he Ccmmenceo upon mat 
 Occasion.' 
 
 In former times, the hirihwav from Leeds to ddsnehester, was 
 as fellows:—Leeds, ihrinrh i em i. up old road at ChnrweH, 
 •ml on to dloriev Eole. and then up beeps', air Lane to the 
 Street' or Soman Boad: next, alone mis road, nil it reached 
 Adwalmn. Prom the latter ~~ w e, the way was over Adw&lton 
 Moor, to Gromersai and forward m Manchester. A little way up 
 tie _ane. we reach DteAJ* TT*t~ Coi.t.tebt. the property of 
 dlessrs. Bedford and Co. The depth of the working shaft is 
 
S3 
 
 seventy-five yards ; tie coal is known as tie Middleton bed ; 
 it is thirty inc-tes in thickness, and is used principally for 
 furnace purposes. 
 
 At tie foot of tie lane stands tie “Daetmobth isii-." 
 (16) on a site formerly occupied by tie “Old "WMte Swan." 
 Nearly a ceutury ago, a better picture of an English way- fide 
 inn than tie “Swan" presented, could scarcely have been 
 found : and it would be a matter of some d if ficulty for me to 
 point to any other spot in our village, which at tie time we 
 have alluded to, could furnish a better photograph of the 
 rural life of its inhabitants. In the olden times, ere the 
 railroad had penetrated through the very heart of the village, 
 it was the meeting place of all the idlers in the neighbourhood, 
 attracted thither by the horn of the guard of the stage coach-, 
 which >every evening stopped at this noted hostelry, and from 
 whose passengers, as they replenished the “inner man" the 
 news-loving villagers gathered information of what was 
 passing in the “ Town " as Leeds was then called. The 
 interior of the “ Swan " is worthy of notice. The kitchen or 
 principal room was a large old fashioned apartment, with the 
 indispensable “ long settle," whieh every evening was notice¬ 
 able for the variety of its occupants. The travelling 
 packman; the regular tramp, having a home nowhere, and a 
 home everywhere, whose life must have derived its peculiar 
 attraction from its endless change of scene : the farmer's man 
 resting after his day's toil; the operative glad to find excite¬ 
 ment anywhere ; the gamekeeper and others, we cannot 
 stay to enumerate : all gathered around the cheerful hearth. 
 On the afternoon of market day. hie various carriers belonging 
 to the neighbouring villages, draw up their teams, a; the doe-r 
 of the inn. as they return heavily laden from market, and as 
 they relate the “news - ' to the assembled rustles, they are 
 joined by “ old Michael" the master of the house, who. having 
 been to market himself, is very civil and communicative. 
 Over the longsettle. and nailed to the wall, you may observe a 
 
84 
 
 board on which is painted in conspicuous letters, the following 
 warning:— 
 
 “ Since man to man is so unjust, 
 
 One scarcely knows wliat man to trust; 
 
 I’ve trusted many to my sorrow, 
 
 So pay to-day, I’ll trust to-morrow.” 
 
 But our village inn was not only visited by numerous and 
 varied individuals of the locality itself, but occasionally 
 strangers, who had been to visit Howley, and other picturesque 
 places in the neighbourhood, would drop in to wait the 
 departure of the coach, and for these, better accomodation 
 was provided in the parlour, with its high backed chairs, dimity 
 curtains, and glass cupboard, full of antique gaily painted 
 china. Goldsmith, drew a picture of the Swan when he wrote, 
 
 “ There stands the inn, where nut-brown draughts inspired, 
 Where honest swains, and smiling toil retired, 
 
 Where village statesmen talk’d with looks profound, 
 
 And news much older than the ale went round. 
 
 Imagination fondly stoops to trace, 
 
 The parlour splendours of that festive place ; 
 
 The whitewashed wall, the nicely sanded floor, 
 
 Tho old oak clock, that click’d behind the door ; 
 
 The chest, contrived a double debt to pay, 
 
 A bed by night, a chest of drawers by day.” 
 
 The mail-coach, the shrill notes of the horn of the guard, the 
 self-satisfied crack from the whip of the driver, the cheerful 
 fire-place, with its roaring-fire, the cosy long-settle, and even 
 Old Michael who dispensed the “hot with” or “cold without,” 
 and who was ever ready with some story of former days, to 
 rivet the attention of the village gossips, all have departed ; 
 gone never to return ; and in their stead, we have the modem 
 inn, with modem appliances and a landlord with an eye to the 
 main chance, The “ Dartmouth Arms” of the present day is 
 noticeable, as the inn, where the “Eight Honble. William 
 Walter, Earl of Dartmouth ” holds his half-yearly audit for 
 
85 
 
 the receipt of the rents, due from the numerous tenantry on 
 this portion of his Lordship’s estates. A villager having no 
 reason of his own for remembering the “rent-day”, can tell 
 of its near approach by seeing for several market days 
 previous, the farmer’s carts heavily laden, jogging to market, 
 and returning empty, the proceeds having found their way 
 into the fanner’s pockets, in readiness for his Lordship’s 
 agent. 
 
 The neighbourhood of this inn, called on account of its 
 situation Morley Hole, possesses nothing that claims our 
 notice, so returning towards the village proper, our attention 
 is first arrested by Rehoboth Chapel, (17) school, and burial 
 ground, which, to our right occupy a commanding position. 
 This chapel as we have already stated was built by the 
 Dissenters, who had been expelled from their former home 
 on Chapel Hill. The foundation-stone was laid on the 26th 
 of February, 1885, by the Rev. John Calvert, the minister; 
 assisted by Revs. Hudswell, of Morley, and Cooke of Gomersal. 
 Two thousand persons witnessed the ceremony, and heard the 
 Pastor deliver an earnest address, in which ho gave a con¬ 
 nected history of dissent. 
 
 During the erection of this chapel, the use of the Old 
 Chapel was granted to the people; the services on the 
 Sabbath commencing at nine o’clock in the morning, and 
 one o’clock in the afternoon, so as not to interfere with the 
 ordinary services in connection with the place. The chapel 
 was opened on the 8th of October, in the same year, and on 
 that day and the following Sunday, sermons were preached 
 by Revs. R. W. Hamilton, J. Ely and T. Scales, of Leeds, and 
 the excitement was so great, that the chapel would not 
 contain half the people. On the Sunday afternoon three 
 thousand persons attended, and the Rev. J. Calvert preached 
 in the burial ground, to those who could not gain admittance 
 into the chapel. 
 
 The following description of the New Chapel and premises 
 
 L 
 
86 
 
 was written soon after the opening, by the minister. “ The 
 exiles erected a spacious Chapel, vestry, and sabbath school¬ 
 room on Dawson Hill, and they also purchased a dwelling- 
 house for the minister. The chapel and premises are all 
 freehold property, and are put in trust for the use of 
 congregational dissenters. The trustees are constituted 
 the guardians of the property, without having any right to 
 interfere with the spiritual concerns. The chapel is forty- 
 four feet wide, and sixty-four feet long, within the walls, and 
 will accomodate eight hundred people. The cost of the free¬ 
 hold, chapel and dwelling-house is near £8,000. 
 
 The Rev. J. Calvert continued to labour till his death in 
 October, 1847 ; having for twenty years filled the pastoral 
 office in connection with this church and congregation ; and 
 his body now sleeps in the graveyard adjoining, till the morning 
 of the resurrection. At the time the “ Old New Chapel,” 
 was built there was no thought of such a thing as a Sunday 
 school in connection with the preaching of the gospel on 
 the Sabbath day. At that time there was not a Sunday 
 school, as a separate building in all England. Seventeen 
 years after this chapel was built, Robert Raikes opened the 
 first Sunday school in Gloucester ; but it was not till the 
 latter part of the last century, that the first Independent 
 school in Morley was opened in the town’s school, In this 
 place the children of two schools were divided by a partition, 
 one portion being occupied by the Independents and the other 
 by the Presbyterians. The former body subsequently removed 
 and taught their school in a large room, adjoining the present 
 post office, a most uncomfortable and unsuitable place for 
 the purpose. The change from that place to the room under 
 the present chapel, was hailed by the managers of that institu¬ 
 tion, as a great boon; but this accomodation, in course of time 
 became inadequate and in 1850, it was determined to erect a 
 new school. In the following year, the school was opened, 
 having cost £700, towards which £600 was subscribed at the 
 
87 
 
 time, and tlie remainder was paid off at a public tea meeting, 
 held on Good Friday, 1859. 
 
 After Mr. Calvert’s death, the pulpit atRehoboth was vacant 
 till the year 1849, when a call was given to the Rev. Jonah 
 Reeve, of Saddleworth, who came and settled in Morley, and 
 continued his efficient labours till November 1858, when he 
 accepted an invitation to Stowmarket. In June 1861 the 
 Rev. William Orgar, of Bingley, became the Pastor, and 
 continued till 1864, when be resigned. Soon after he left, the 
 church and congregation, put into the chapel, the neat and 
 excellent organ now in use, at a cost of about £400. In the 
 month of December, 1864, a call was given to the Rev. John 
 James, of Hinckley, who accepted the invitation, and com¬ 
 menced his labours in February of the following year. 
 
 As we leave the chapel and walk leisurely along towards 
 Dawson Hill, we cannot avoid observing, how rapidly the 
 burial ground is filling. If we look over the dates on the 
 tombstones, we see, how sure seems its annual increase of 
 inhabitants, and we feel satisfied that the paths of many of our 
 friends, now moving about the streets of our village, must ere 
 long, terminate here. A handsome stone obelisk in one corner 
 of the ground, has been lately erected to the memory of a man, 
 whose name was well known throughout the West Riding of 
 Yorkshire. On one side of the obelisk are the arms of the 
 deceased, and motto “ Nitor in Adversum and on another 
 side the following inscription :— 
 
 “ In Memory of Joseph Horner, Esq., Merchant, of Wakefield, 
 who died Dec. 13th, 1850, aged 37. His fellow-townsmen have 
 erected a public monument, at Wakefield, in remembrance of his 
 labours as a Philanthropist and Political Reformer. His end was 
 peace.” 
 
 In another part of the graveyard a neat stone bears the 
 following record:— 
 
 “ In Memory of Joseph Dixon Asquith, son of Joseph and 
 Esther Asquith, who died June 16th, 1860, aged 35 years.” 
 
88 
 
 Mr. Asquith, was gifted with many estimable qualities ; was, 
 for a while, the idol of his parents ; marrying well, his path 
 for a time, seemed strewed with flowers, hut he was suddenly 
 called away and left behind him a widow and several children. 
 
 An enclosed plot of ground, near to the last named monu¬ 
 ment, contains the remains of Mr. Nathaniel Dixon, and 
 respect demands that we should offer such a tribute, as is 
 within our power to bestow to those who, when living, had a 
 claim upon our honour and respect— 
 
 “ Happy the Christian who pursues the road 
 
 Which leads to happiness, and leads to God ; 
 
 Who like a Dixon lives—like him expires, 
 
 And loved and honoured from the world retires.” 
 
 Mr. Dixon may very appropriately be considered one of the 
 “worthies” ofMorley, as he was highly respected and took a 
 deep interest in all public matters which had for their object 
 the good of his fellow-townsmen. He was elected first chair¬ 
 man of the Local Board, in 1862, having previously served all 
 the various public offices connected with the village. In 1859, 
 he was chosen chairman of the Gas Company and retained the 
 office till his death. Whenever he attended any public meet¬ 
 ing of the inhabitants, called for the purpose of taking into 
 consideration any scheme intended to improve and advance their 
 interests, he always delivered what he had to say upon the 
 subject, in a clear and forcible manner, and generally to the 
 point. But it was as a Christian man, that he will be best 
 remembered by those who knew him. He was the life of every 
 benevolent and Christian movement, a devoted lover of peace, 
 and a large-hearted well-wisher of every good cause. He was 
 eminently a man of prayer, strictly conscientious, honourable 
 and upright in all his dealings, scrupulous even to a fault, 
 generous, and ever ready to assist in any public or private acts 
 of benevolence. During the last two years of his life, he 
 resided at Drighlington, where he died on the 30th day of Oct., 
 1865, aged fifty-nine years. 
 
THE HALL, MORLEY 
 
RAMBLE IV. 
 
 “ I’ll view the manners of the town ; 
 
 Peruse the traders; gaze upon the buildings, 
 
 And then return.” 
 
 Shakspeee. 
 
 “ I love the place, in which my infant sight 
 Caught the first beams of animating light; 
 
 Thy Saxon tongue to polished ears uncouth 
 In guile unpractised, but allied to Truth ; 
 
 Thy hardy sons, who know with equal pride 
 To chase the shuttle or the plough to guide ; 
 
 Thy thrifty wives, thy daughters ever dear, 
 
 Thy hearty welcome to their simple cheer.” 
 
 Anon. 
 
 Coming along Dawson Hill, we can see, through the trees, 
 the old fashioned house, known as Morley Hall, (18) the 
 residence of Mi\ Joseph Webster. The house itself is not 
 very remarkable ; it has a low central portion, flanked by several 
 gabled erections, and at one end a new wing, which, not having 
 the weather stains of the rest of the building, seems somewhat 
 out of keeping with it. The Hall was built in 1683, by Thomas 
 Dawson, Esq., who chose tastefully the site. It stands on the 
 knoll of a hill, with a broad green meadow in front, sloping 
 gradually down to the village, and is planted at the back with 
 trees. One peculiarity of these trees, I cannot pass over. 
 Twenty years ago, quite a colony of rooks inhabited them, and 
 the evening’s proceedings and playful manoeuvres of this 
 feathered tribe, afforded much amusement to the juveniles of 
 those days. In the autumn time, just before dusk, they came 
 in long strings from their day’s wanderings, and wheeling 
 round and round in the air, in a playful manner, they made a 
 loud cawing, preparatory to settling down to their rest. The 
 number of these yearly visitants to the Hall is now much less 
 
90 
 
 than formerly, when they were so numerous that to speak of 
 “ The Rookery” was equivalent to giving the place its proper 
 name. John Dawson, a descendant of the before-mentioned 
 Thomas Dawson, lived here a century ago. He was the 
 father-in-law of Alexander Wedderburn, afterwards Lord 
 Loughborough, Lord High Chancellor of England. While a 
 Barrister upon the Northern Circuit, he found an opportunity 
 to tell “ the old old story” to Miss Dawson, and ultimately 
 married her. Lady Loughborough died in 1797, and was 
 buried at Morley. Of John Dawson, Scatcherd writes:—“ He 
 did himself some credit in resisting with success, as a trustee 
 of the Old Chapel, a most unconscientious claim of a Vicar of 
 Batley, to burial, (if not baptismal) dues ; but otherwise, he 
 did little good to the village; and, as a neighbour, I have 
 reason to think his room, when dead, was worth quite as much 
 as his society when living. In truth he left behind him a con¬ 
 vincing proof of his arrogance and parsimony, in the erection 
 of a pew more like a calf’s crib than the seat of a gentleman of 
 fortune, by which he modestly deprived his townsmen of one 
 half of the east window in the chancel of the Old Chapel.” 
 From the Dawson family, the Hall passed into the possession of 
 the Wetherills, and afterwards was purchased by Joseph Dixon, 
 at the time, a large manufacturer, and best known amongst his 
 neighbours by the name of “Great Joe Dixon,” in contra¬ 
 distinction to another Joseph Dixon, then living in Morley. 
 As an employer of labour, he was highly respected, and left at 
 his death, children whose descendants are still numerous in the 
 village. Mr. Jos. Priestley, an extensive manufacturer of cloth, 
 next occupied the “ Hall,” and for the better carrying on of his 
 business, erected the large factory at the rear of the house. 
 We cannot omit noticing in our local biography the career of 
 Wm. 0. Priestley, Esq., (son of the above named) whose early 
 years was spent at the “ Hall.” He was born in the neigh¬ 
 bouring village of Churwell, in 1829, whence at an early age he 
 was removed to Morley Hall, and in due course was sent to 
 
91 
 
 the Free Grammar School, at Batley, and subsequently to 
 Bramham College. In 1843 he was apprenticed to Mr. M. T. 
 Sadler, surgeon, of Barnsley ; on leaving this place, he took 
 charge of a district in Leeds, during the fearful visitation of 
 cholera in 1849. He removed to Edinburgh, and studied at 
 the University, and was assistant for some years to the cele¬ 
 brated Dr. Simpson. In April 1856 he was married to Eliza, 
 daughter of Robert Chambers, Esq., of the well known firm of 
 W. and R. Chambers. Of his present position in the medical 
 world, we gather the following particulars from the Medical 
 Directory for 1866. “Priestley, W. 0., 17, Hertford Street, 
 Mayfair, London; M.D., Edin., 1853 ; F.R.C.P., Edin., 
 1858; F.R.C.P., London, 1864 ; M., 1850; M.R.C.S., 
 England, 1852 ; Fell. Roy. Med. Chir. Soes., London and 
 Edin; Fell. Bot. Soc., Edin.; Mem. Obst. Soes. Lond. and 
 Edin.; Exam, in Midw. University, London ; Prof, of Midw., 
 King’s College Hosp.; formerly Vice-President, Paris Med. 
 Soc., and author of numerous medical papers. In addittion 
 to these and many other honours, Dr. Priestley was in 1865 
 appointed Physician Accoucher to the Princess Louis of Hesse, 
 and the members of the Orleans family resident in England. 
 Her Majesty the Queen has not unfrequently conferred special 
 marks of favour on Dr. Priestley, for professional services 
 rendered to the members of the Royal Family. Dr. Priestley 
 is grandnephew of the celebrated and famous Dr. Jos. Priestley. 
 
 The Hall was bought more than twenty years ago by the 
 present owner, at that time a partner in the well known firm 
 of N. Webster and Sons. For many years the firm maintained 
 a high character as cloth manufacturers and merchants; but 
 a few years ago, the remaining members of the firm, having 
 acquired an honourable competency, retired from the manu¬ 
 facturing part of the business, much to the regret of a 
 numerous body of work-people, who had been employed by 
 them for a great legnth of time. 
 
 At the foot of Dawson Hill, Victoria Mill stands, on a 
 
92 
 
 site where formerly stood a low building, called the “ Lead- 
 house ” from the lead cisterns used in the process of dyeing. 
 Several of these dye-houses were built in this locality, and 
 gave their name to the town’s pump (still called “Leadhouse 
 pump”) which stands near to the mill. The water required 
 for these dye-houses had to be for a long time pumped by 
 hand ; but a horse-gin was applied after that time, and the 
 latter has given place to the steam engine. 
 
 From the Leadhouse pump a few steps brings us to the 
 Bottoms, (19) so called from its low situation; and here we 
 find the hands of time and change have been busy with every 
 part of it. Most of the old houses have been pulled down, 
 and others are so altered, that we can recognize in but few 
 of them, their original features, and where a few years ago, 
 stood a number of old tumble-down buildings, we have hand¬ 
 some and convenient shops, for the sale of nearly every 
 conceivable article, that can administer to the temporal 
 comfort of our villagers 
 
 In a house in Brunswick street, died a few years ago, the 
 last representative in our village, of a race which has become 
 extinct under the rapid changes of recent years. Miss 
 Gisbum kept here a village dame school, one of those seats 
 of learning, that for many generations represented the notions 
 of our forefathers on education. The dame seemed to be 
 continually hearing the same number of small children go 
 through the trying ordeal of spelling a few words of one 
 syllable ; and we believe she considered her duty discharged, 
 if the youngsters could repeat the words as they stood in the 
 book, never dreaming, good easy soul, that it would be as well 
 to give some knowledge of what the words meant. What a 
 contrast the “ dame schools ” of our village a century ago, 
 present to the more efficient “ infant schools” which have been 
 established in our time. 
 
 In the year 1849, Morley suffered severely from the 
 ravages of the cholora, and near to the Bottoms, on Dawson 
 
93 
 
 Hill, the first fatal case from that malady occurred. During 
 that period of affliction a committee was formed, and a fund of 
 above £60 subscribed, which was expended in alleviating the 
 misery of the sufferers, and affording aid where human aid 
 was possible. The Earl of Dartmouth, with a commendable 
 benevolence, sent two several subscriptions to that fund. He 
 also forwarded, through his agent, (Frederick Tkynne, Esq.,) 
 a donation of £15 to be expended in clothing and bedding by 
 the committee, and distributed amongst the sufferers; he 
 further placed the sum of £4 per week, for three months, at 
 the disposal of the committee, to be paid to the widows, 
 orphans, and others who stood in the greatest need. This 
 episode in the history of “Our Village” will be long remembered. 
 Persons of all ages died, and every class and station, suffered 
 from the insidious disease. The villagers were in a state of 
 great alarm, many of those who died were buried in their 
 clothes, no one being willing to strip them, preparatory to being 
 placed in their coffins. Valuable services were rendered at 
 this time by the Rev. John Morris, then minister at the Old 
 Chapel. During the continuance of this awful visitation, he 
 daily, and almost continuously attended the sick and dying, 
 employing himself in administering both to their bodily and 
 spiritual wants. His conduct in this instance was beyond all 
 praise, inasmuch as he nobly and fearlessly discharged his 
 duty as a Christian teacher at so awful and perilous a period. 
 
 At the foot of Chapel Hill, formerly stood the “Old Malt 
 Shovel,” formerly kept in the Old Fold, but removed sixty 
 years ago to this place, and was then kept by Mrs. Asquith, 
 afterwards better known as Mrs. Wood. This old and noted 
 inn, has been converted into dwelling houses and we have in 
 its place, on the opposite side of the way, the “ Royal Hotel,” 
 built a few years ago by Mi-. Wade, now of Wakefield. 
 
 Turning down Albert Road, on our left we soon discover, 
 through the sense of smell, our close promixity, to what is, at 
 times, a most unbearable and intolerable nuisance. This 
 
 M 
 
94 
 
 would be called in London a Knacker’s yard, but which, in 
 more aristocratic parlance in Morley, is known as “theTawers 
 business premises.” This business is to convert the skins of 
 horses and other animals into “ thongs” or long strips of hide, 
 used for sewing the joints of leather strapping. George Web¬ 
 ster, son of Captain Webster, carried on the business of 
 a “skinner” on this spot, fifty years ago, and from that time 
 to the present, though it has been daily voted an intolerable 
 nuisance, no steps have been taken for its abatement. Adjoin¬ 
 ing this yard is an Old Cottage, built by one William Ellis. 
 At the time when this mud-hut, (for such it is) was put up, 
 the ground was waste or common land, and by an old statute 
 then in force, if any person could erect a dwelling-house dur¬ 
 ing the twelve hours of night, the land on which it stood, 
 became freehold. This house was built, in compliance with 
 the requirements of that law, having been begun and com¬ 
 pleted throughout, within twelve hours. Close to this cottage 
 is the Pinfold, (20) or Common Pound. Here, was formerly 
 the “ Ducking Stool” over a sheet of water, and such was the 
 anxiety of our old villagers to keep up this old usage, that, 
 when the ground was required for other purposes, this old 
 instrument of punishment was removed to a suitable spot in 
 Morley Hole, and subsequently to the Flush pond, in Townend, 
 near what was long known as “ Ratten Row.” Our ancestors, 
 who considered the scold not only a domestic plague, but as a 
 public nuisance, calculated to disturb the peace of the neigh¬ 
 bourhood, and to interfere with the quiet of the common weal, 
 endeavoured to stop these tongue batteries by means of the 
 ducking stool,— 
 
 “ There stands my friend in yonder pool, 
 
 An Engine called a Ducking stool: 
 
 By legal power commanded down, 
 
 The joy and terror of the town. 
 
 If jarring females kindle strife, 
 
 Give language foul, or lug the coif,— 
 
 If noisy dames should once begin, 
 
r g 
 
 OLD COTTAGES, PINFOLD & TOWNS QUARRY, MORLEY. 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
95 
 
 To drive the house with horrid din,— 
 
 Away, you cry, you’ll grace the stool; 
 
 We’ll teach you how your tongue to rule.” 
 
 This Ducking stool appears to have been of Saxon origin, and 
 consisted of a chair or stool, on which the offender was placed, 
 and by the use of a long pole, was let down into a pool of 
 water, as often as was desirable. We find from the following 
 extract from an old poem on this subject, that the confirmed 
 scold occasionally vented her angry clamour as soon as she 
 recovered her breath after the first plunge, in which case, the 
 immersion was repeated till exhaustion caused silence :— 
 
 “ Down in the deep the stool descends 
 But here, at first, we miss our ends ; 
 
 She mounts again and rages more 
 Than ever vixen did before. 
 
 If so, my friend, pray let her take 
 A second turn into the lake ; 
 
 And rather than your patience lose, 
 
 Thrice and again repeat the dose. 
 
 No brawling wives, no furious wenches, 
 
 No fire so hot, but water quenches. 
 
 We shall do our grand-dames an injustice if, before concluding 
 this notice, we do not mention that the ducking stool was em¬ 
 ployed as a punishment not only for scolds and brawlers, but 
 also, for bakers and brewers, who either in the one case made 
 bad bread or short weight, and in the other, sold ale in short 
 measures or of bad quality. When the stool was removed to 
 Morley Hole, the site on which it stood was for some time un¬ 
 occupied, until 1778, when the present Pinfold was built. The 
 Pinfold is now seldom used, and the office of “ Pinder and 
 Bye-law man” has become all but obselete. Many and fierce 
 have been the contentions at parish meetings, as to who should 
 hold these offices. 
 
 Near to this ancient town’s freehold, are four cottages 
 occupied for more then a century by the “ Maud family ”, 
 some of whom have been “ characters ” in their day; but 
 whose history would not furnish our readers with any feature 
 
96 
 
 worthy of imitation. One of these cottages has within the 
 last year almost tumbled to pieces, and for the credit of our 
 village architecture, we trust the whole row will be swept 
 away and the excellent site soon be occupied by more useful 
 buildings. At the back of these cottages is the town’s quarry. 
 Here, formerly, stone was got, which after being burnt in 
 kilns, was used for the repairs of the highways. 
 
 Opposite this quarry a new road commences, which leads 
 to the Morley station of the London and North Western 
 Railway Company. The road follows the narrow valley 
 watered by the old beck, once a clear and sparkling brook 
 having trout, which invited sport; but shorn of all its poetry 
 and purity, its waters now resemble a mixture of soap-suds, 
 dish-water, and the most opaque of peggy-tub decoctions, all 
 combining to emit such a rank compound of villainous smells 
 as might have regaled the nostrils of the amorous Falstaff on 
 his memorable introduction to Mrs. Ford’s buck-basket. But 
 notwithstanding, on the margin of this defilement of this 
 once pleasant and healthful stream, the botanist will be pleased 
 to notice two or three luxuriant tufts of white-flowered 
 comfrey, a plant common in some districts, but rare about 
 here. Proceeding down the Station Road, as it is called, we 
 come to the Crank Mill, (21) to which we have already 
 referred in speaking of the trade of our village. It is now 
 unoccupied and fast going to ruin and seems destined before 
 long to be pulled down, as having fulfilled its mission, and 
 become too antiquated and cranky for the manufacturing 
 requirements of the present age. The chimney of this mill 
 is erected at a considerable distance from the mill itself, and 
 has often been subject for remark. The reason for building 
 it where it now stands, was to avoid the disastrous consequen¬ 
 ces which befel the mill on the 3rd of January, 1823, when 
 a storm of wind blew down the first chimney on to the top 
 of the dry-house, entailing a loss of £300 to the owners. A 
 little beyond the mill is the Talley Hotel, the resort of 
 
97 
 
 “commercials”, who find it conveniently near to the station. 
 
 In writing of the present mode of travelling, as now 
 suggested hy the mention of the “ station ”, we cannot help 
 thinking with wffiat astonishment our forefathers would look on 
 the wonderful changes in the matter of locomotion. Fancy 
 the state of things two centuries ago, when the people had to 
 come from Churwell, Gildersome, and many other places, to 
 the Old Chapel on Sunday, for at that time, none of these 
 places had churches or chapels; but the people were all 
 united in one common fold under the Puritan pastor at Morley. 
 Every Sabbath day, by way of Neepshaw Lane, Rooms Lane, 
 and others of a similar kind, came the clothiers, the farmers 
 and operatives, with their families, some on foot, toiling along 
 the narrotv rugged roads, and miry footpaths, while others, 
 the farmer and his wife, used frequently to ride together on 
 horseback, the “ guidwife ” being seated behind her lord and 
 master, on what was called a pillion—a kind of stuffed seat. 
 As this was also the way in which they went to market, or 
 came on business to the village—to accomodate those who 
 travelled in this rude fashion, there used to be stone steps, 
 called “ mounts” or “ horsing-stones” attached to the inns in 
 the village, for the use of those equestrians who wished to 
 mount or dismount, Some of these mounts still remain in 
 various parts of the West Riding, and the old fashioned 
 method of “ going to market ” is yet pursued in some parts 
 of England. A century ago our village traffic was carried on 
 by means of pack-horses, or as they were sometimes called 
 “bell-horses.” Our historian says:—“I have a faint recol¬ 
 lection of them passing through Morley twice a week, on 
 Mondays and Thursdays. They were called pack-horses from 
 carrying large packs of cloth, &c., on their backs. These 
 bell-horses and their drivers were the chief conveyances 
 during the middle ages, and down to the times of the great 
 civil war. When I saw the bell-horses at Morley, passing on 
 to Dewsbury and Thornhill, the first horse only wore a bell. 
 
98 
 
 The roads were then narrow and rugged, with deep ruts, and 
 the causeways, generally, were single and uneven. The bell- 
 horses always kept this footpath, and forced therefrom travel¬ 
 lers of every description, so that on dark nights, and especially 
 in the winter time, the bell of the proud leader was a most 
 useful appendage. These roadsters ceased to travel, sometime, 
 as I fancy, about 1794, but I cannot ascertain the precise 
 date.” Miller in his Rural Sketches says :—“ What a sensa¬ 
 tion must the entrance of these venerable travellers have 
 created in the villages in olden times, with the jingling of 
 their bells, and the clattering of hoofs, and their huge packs 
 of goods strapped securely on the backs of their strong horses 
 to half the height of a man ! What a treat would it be now to 
 sit and listen to the conversation of those wayfarers, when, 
 after a long journey, they got wanned with humming ale and 
 told tales of highwaymen and lonely roads, and dark nights 
 and bales of cloth stolen, worth so much a yard and what 
 struggles they had had with footpads.” An interesting 
 account of these pack-horses, also appears in the 25th volume 
 of the Archseologia, lately published. “ Imedvatly after that 
 comunycacion (says the writer) we mete one Stephen Amore, a 
 man of Nottyngh’en comyn from Stamford, dryving horses 
 lodden with cloth before him.” Stephen from a further 
 account, appears to have been at Bury, and like all his 
 brother carriers, was a famous newsmonger and politician. 
 
 After the bell-horses came the ponderous waggons of the 
 “ common carriers ” with their four or six horses to each. 
 At this time, one Mitchell was the carrier between Leeds and 
 Manchester, and for the purposes of his business, he bought 
 the house now called “ The Lodge,” near the church atMorley. 
 “What sturdy fellows were the old waggoners! men who 
 never travelled more than two miles an hour, and halted 
 either to bait themselves or their horses at every roadside inn. 
 How the heavy wheels of the ponderous wains ground down 
 the ridges of the ruts; and with what difficulty did they 
 
99 
 
 travel when the roads were bad ! How the heart of the foot- 
 beaten traveller was overjoyed when he saw one of these 
 huge vehicles approach ! What a time he might ride for a 
 shilling, and what a comfortable nap he might enjoy on the 
 straw.” At this time the passenger traffic was carried on by 
 means of “machines with steel springs,” better known as 
 “ stage coaches.” “ The Dart, four-horse Post Coach, will 
 run daily from Leeds to Huddersfield, at six o’clock in the 
 evening, by way of Morley, Birstal. April 1815.” The 
 stage-coach was then in its glory, and was described by a 
 great traveller as “ the perfection of travel.” There are 
 many yet in our village, who have a vivid recollection of the 
 ups and downs, the lights and shades, the social variety and 
 freshness of a trip to London, in these old coaching days. 
 Twenty-years ago, these left the road, and our villagers were, 
 in our opinion, accomodated with, something nearer to per¬ 
 fection of travel, by the opening of the railway to Leeds and 
 other places. 
 
 The Station House, (22) is a neat stone building, with 
 all the conveniences in the shape of waiting and other rooms 
 that a country station requires. Within fifty yards of the 
 station-house is the Morley Tunnel, which runs through the very 
 heart of the village. The first stone of this stupendous under¬ 
 taking was laid on Monday, the 23rd of February, 1846, and 
 was made the occasion of considerable festivity and display. 
 On that day, at twelve o’clock at noon, a very imposing pro¬ 
 cession led by the 69th infantry, was formed at the Batley end 
 of the Tunnel; the band was followed by a large body of 
 workmen, each bearing aloft an appropriate banner, and the 
 flag bearers were succeeded in the procession by the directors 
 together with the contractors and others interested in the 
 undertaking. The tunnel was illuminated by hundreds of 
 candles which imparted a degree of liveliness and attraction to 
 the otherwise dreary subterranean journey. The stone was 
 laid by John Gott, Esq., chairman of the company, who also 
 
100 
 
 addressed the large concourse of spectators. Fifty pounds 
 were handed over to the workpeople, in the hope that it would 
 contribute to their enjoyment, and to the festivities of the day. 
 In August 1848, the key-stone of the last arch of the Morley 
 tunnel, at the north or Morley entrance was laid by Mr. 
 Grainger, the principal engineer. The ceremony seems to 
 have created no little interest in our village. A band of music 
 was in attendance ; the day was beautifully fine, and gaiety 
 prevaded the whole scene. The following particulars respecting 
 this tunnel may not be uninteresting. It is in length 3370 
 yards, or nearly two miles. The extreme breadth is 26 feet and 
 the height 26 feet. The tunnel is nearly level throughout— 
 the fall being only what is required for its proper drainage. 
 In executing the works, twenty-three working shafts were used, 
 besides four permanent shafts. At one time workmen were 
 employed at forty-eight different places. Eleven powerful 
 steam engines were employed, fifteen double horse-gins, three 
 hundred and thirty horses and two thousand workmen. The 
 act for its construction was obtained in July 1845, and the 
 tunnel was opened in about three years from that time. The 
 line was opened to the public on the 18th of September, 1848, 
 but owing to the high rate of charges, omnibuses continued to 
 run between Morley and Leeds for several years after that 
 time. The goods, as well as the passenger traffic is now very 
 large. In the article of coal only, more than three thousand 
 tons are often sent, by rail, from Morley alone in one week ; 
 and the goods warehouse at our village station, daily receives 
 into it, large quantities of wool, rags, mungo, and other 
 materials required by our manufacturers. 
 
 A little beyond the railway station are the Gas Works (23.) 
 The Act for lighting our village with gas, received the royal 
 assent on the 9th day of June, 1848. The Act was obtained 
 on the representation that it would be of great advantage 
 to the inhabitants of Morley, if a constant and ample supply 
 of gas was provided for lighting mills, manufactories, shops, 
 
VALLEY MILLS, MORLEY. 
 
101 
 
 houses and other buildings, and it would also be of advantage 
 to them and to the public resorting thereto, if a sufficient 
 supply of gas were provided for lighting the streets, roads, 
 highways and public passages within the township. Six years 
 however elapsed before any steps were taken to carry out 
 the lighting of the streets ; then a public meeting of the 
 ratepayers was held, and a most strenuous opposition 
 organized. On a poll being taken, a large majority decided 
 against the introduction of gas into the streets. For several 
 years the attempt was repeated, but as often failed and not 
 until fifteen years after gas was supplied to the private 
 consumer, were the prejudices of our villagers overcome, and 
 our highways made passable after dark. The Gas Company 
 is at present in a most flourishing condition. The works 
 are of a substantial character, and are continually undergoing 
 enlargement to keep pace with the times. The original 
 capital was £5,000, increased a few years ago, to £7,000. 
 
 Not many yards beyond the Gas Works are the extensive 
 factories of Messrs. A. Scott and Son, appropriately called 
 Valley Mills, (24), for on this spot, twenty years ago, were 
 fields of waving corn; the brook ran meandering along the 
 valley; on a summer’s evening the air was filled with pleasant 
 sounds, and rural scenery met the eye at every turn. 
 
 “ Where stretch’d the fields and meadows wide, 
 
 With rural grass and daisies pied, 
 
 And sinuous brooks between ; 
 
 Now the strong engine toils and pants, 
 
 And legions of industrious ants, 
 
 Diversify the scene. 
 
 And to the passing ear will come 
 A deep, continuous, busy hum ;— 
 
 Incessant sounds arise : 
 
 And loud amid the ceaseless din, 
 
 Where wheels unintermitted spin, 
 
 The ringing shuttle flies.” 
 
 The present owners, with a well directed foresight, saw the 
 
 N 
 
102 
 
 advantages to be derived from turning this very eligible site to 
 more practical purposes. Eight years ago, they erected a 
 mill and commenced with the most improved machinery, the 
 manufacture of superfine union cloth. Success attended the 
 enterprise; another mill was built; the “ superfines ” were 
 rewarded with medals at International and other Exhibitions ; 
 the firm reaped more substantial benefits, and from a com¬ 
 paratively humble position in life, the head of this firm has 
 risen to a position of affluence and to be chairman of our 
 local government, and guardian of our poor, and carries with 
 him into public life the same energy, resolution, and business 
 talent, that characterize him in the management of his own 
 affairs. 
 
 Retracing our steps, we will walk up the hill till we reach 
 Mokley Main Colliery, (25) situate on Albert Road, and 
 belonging to Messrs. Wm. Ackroyd and Bros., of Birkenshaw. 
 Two working shafts have been sunk, to the depth of on© 
 hundred and fifty and one hundred and twenty yards res¬ 
 pectively, and a large body of workmen are employed, who 
 send to the pits mouth, nearly two thousand tons of coal 
 weekly. The pits were opened in 1855. An accident fund 
 is established in connection with the works which has proved 
 highly beneficial to the miners. The coal mines in Morley 
 open an important branch of trade, and furnish employment to 
 a large number of persons. The quality of the coal is good, 
 and readily finds a market in every part of England. 
 
RAMBLE Y. 
 
 41 All work, and no play, makes Jack a dull boy.” 
 
 Old Proverb. 
 
 “ And all the village train, from labour free, 
 
 Led up the sports beneath the spreading tree ; 
 
 While many a pastime circled in the shade, 
 
 The young contending as the old surveyed ; 
 
 And many a gambol frolick’d o’er the ground, 
 
 And sleight of art, and feats of strength went round; 
 
 And still as each repeated pleasure tired, 
 
 Succeeding sports the mirthful mind inspired.” 
 
 Goldsmith. 
 
 Leaving the Colliery we enter Albert Road, better known 
 to our villagers, as Low Common, and, certainly, the latter 
 name is much more significant and appropriate than the former. 
 Prior to the year 1817, there were several hundred acres un¬ 
 enclosed and useless Common Land in Morley, stretching from 
 the Bottoms to Owlers near Middleton Wood, and where, we 
 now see a mill, and on either side, gentlemen’s residences, and 
 numerous cottages, there was, fifty years ago, whin-bushes and 
 brambles, and a bridle-road, which coming from Famley, up 
 Rooms Lane, across the Common, went forward to Dunningley, 
 and joined the Old Roman Road, not far from the latter 
 place. Many are still living who recollect the time when, upon 
 this Common, there were several mounds or hillocks, about 
 four or five feet high, and situate from each other about ten or 
 twelve yards. Mr. Nicolas, a winter on the subject of “ Butts,” 
 as these mounds were called, thus explains their use. “Butts,” 
 he says, “ were mounds of earth erected for the purpose of a 
 target, against which arrows were shot. They were called 
 ‘ rounds,’ no doubt, from their form. ‘ In the fifth year of 
 Edward the Fourth, an act passed that every Englishman and 
 
104 
 
 t 
 
 Irishman dwelling with Englishmen, should have an English 
 bow of his own height, which was to be of yew, wych, hazel, 
 ash, or accorne, and that butts should be made in every Town¬ 
 ship, at which the inhabitants should shoot up and down every 
 Feast-day, under the penalty of a halfpenny when they should 
 omit this exercise.” Some weight may attach to this explana¬ 
 tion, when we bear in mind, that the “Village Feast” was held 
 on the Common, previous to the Enclosure, and in fact, this 
 waste was the “ Public Recreation Ground” of our ancestors. 
 Scatcherd, says, “the property now belonging to the late Josh. 
 Dixon’s family, is built on ground where formerly stood these 
 “butts,” and this ground, the north side of the Chapel-yard 
 and the Low Common was certainly the village play-ground, 
 and that, in my opinion, as lately as the reign of Charles the 
 First; for some of his coins, now in my possession, were found 
 in the hedges’ banks, and the village sports were on the Com¬ 
 mon till 1816.” 
 
 “ Tlie Old Village Common is under the plough, 
 
 But not of the poor and it grieves me enow ; 
 
 For no more do their children, all rosy and gay, 
 
 Upon its close green sward roll over and play ; 
 
 No more their ass crops up the sweet thistle blow, 
 
 And no more it is graced by their strawberry cow. 
 
 The Old Village Common ! its verdure has fled 
 Like the hopes of the poor unto whom it was wed, 
 
 With the marriage of neighbourhood, love, and the play 
 Of the feelings of childhood which fade not away ; 
 
 But now our old Common is under the plough, 
 
 And its furrows are deep as the care on my brow.” 
 
 The villagers of Morley were formerly celebrated for their skill 
 and agility in athletic sports, and such manly exercises, as 
 cricket, quoits (the discus of the Romans) with others of a 
 similar character, and they still display their taste whenever 
 they have the chance of exercising it. But, we have no spot 
 expressly set apart, where the operatives can enjoy the old 
 healthy sports of England, which could not now fail to be grate- 
 
105 
 
 ful after the monotony of the factory. We trust this hint to 
 our local authority, will be sufficient. The old customs of our 
 forefathers are fast wearing out hut some of them still remain, 
 and the following remarks on them may afford amusement. 
 
 On New Year’s Day the youngsters keep up the old custom of 
 asking gifts, and wishing their neighbours “a happy new year.” 
 Rising early, they go in companies from shop to shop, and 
 vociferously demand “ a New Year’s Gift.” The gifts are 
 generally of little value, but the novelty of the time, and mode 
 of distributing them contributes much to the pleasure and 
 interest of all parties concerned. 
 
 Valentine’s Day was also observed in Morley long before the 
 penny post had made the transmission of “billet doux” an 
 easy matter, and it is still observed with deepest interest, 
 though at the cost of much annoyance to our village postman. 
 The custom of choosing Valentines was a sport practised in 
 England as early as the year 1479. There is a tradition, that 
 on this day, every bird chooses its mate. 
 
 Shrovetide was a season peculiarly welcome to the school-boy, 
 and the apprentice. For more than a century, the bell of the 
 Old Chapel, rung what was called the “pancake bell” on 
 Shrove Tuesday, at eleven o’clock in the forenoon. This was 
 the signal for a total cessation from labour for the rest of the 
 day. The parish apprentices, inured to hard work and scanty 
 fare, and the school boy, tired of tasks and floggings, listened 
 with peculiar pleasure to the tones of this bell; all now gave 
 themselves up to foot-ball and other games ; and to do what¬ 
 soever they might choose. The custom of frying pancakes, on 
 this day, is still observed by our villagers, and the feat of turn¬ 
 ing them in the pan, is the cause of much merriment. 
 
 Palm Sunday was observed, a century ago, with more care 
 than at present. Large numbers went on that day to Howley, 
 where a fair or wake was held, known as “ Fieldcock Fair.” Near 
 to the place, where the fair was held, was “ Lady Ann’s Well.” 
 It was the custom to throw palms into the water, and was then 
 
106 
 
 believed, that the water possessed some miraculous power of a 
 healing nature. The custom is still preserved, and though the 
 faith in the efficacy of the water may not be so strong, 
 thousands go to the well every Palm Sunday, from Morley, 
 Batley, and the adjacent villages. 
 
 On the First of April, as in times past, the youths of our 
 village delight in striving to make as many fools as they can. 
 Who, amongst us, but can remember being sent once in his 
 life, at least, on what was called a “sleeveless errand,” either 
 for “Pigeon’s milk,” or “Strap Oil,” or some other similar 
 absurdity. An old tradition affirms that, “ such an infatuation 
 attends the First day of April as no foresight can escape, no 
 vigilance can defeat.” 
 
 Good Friday is not, and has not, in times past, been much 
 observed as a holiday in Morley, except by those connected 
 with the Established Church. The Easter holidays are con¬ 
 sidered more as a season for enjoyment, and have been kept as 
 such from time immemorial. 
 
 May Bay and Koyal Oak Day were once kept by the juveniles 
 of Morley, with greater hilarity and loyalty than at present. It 
 was the custom on the latter day, to wear wreaths of oak leaves 
 on their caps, and the horses heads were bedecked in a similar 
 manner. This was done to commemorate the restoration to 
 the throne of Charles the Second, at the termination of the 
 Commonwealth, and of the concealment of the King in an oak 
 tree, after the battle of Worcester, in 1651. It was of this 
 King, that Rochester, when writing his mock epitaph, said— 
 
 ‘ ‘ Here lies our mutton-eating King, 
 
 Whose word no man relies on ; 
 
 He never said a foolish thing— 
 
 He never did a wise one.” 
 
 The observance of Whitsuntide is still kept up with spirit. 
 On Whit-Monday the streets and lanes are made quite vocal by 
 the choristers of the various Sunday Schools, who, clad in their 
 best, (the girls generally in snowy white), perambulate from 
 
107 
 
 house to house, among the leading families of the religious 
 bodies to which they belong. Aided by double-basses, trom¬ 
 bones, and fiddles, and led by a village Costa of very emphatic 
 gesticulation, mounted on a kitchen chair, and flourishing a 
 big roll of music in his hand, hundreds of voices manage some¬ 
 how to get through a hymn tune of very questionable merit, 
 generally composed for the occasion ; and at the conclusion of 
 this, make no hesitation about rendering an anthem from 
 Handel or Haydn. 
 
 The Village Feast kept in September, does not now maintain 
 its former importance, and many of the sports and pastimes 
 peculiar to it, a century ago, are now forgotten. Pitching the 
 bar, wrestling, throwing at cocks, (a most barbarous amuse¬ 
 ment) ; hunting the pig, sack, smock, and wheelbarrow races, 
 grinning and smoking matches, very largely constituted the 
 amusements of our forefathers. To these we may add the 
 “Hot Hasty-Pudding Eaters,” who contended for superiority by 
 swallowing the greatest quantity of hot hasty-pudding in the 
 shortest time ; so that he whose throat was widest and most 
 callous was sure to be the conqueror. As time wore on, these 
 amusements gave place to others, of less questionable character. 
 The village feast of the present day is a very different affair 
 than when held on the village Common fifty years ago. Among 
 the many annual seasons of mirth and rejoicing, to which, 
 at that time, our villagers were accustomed to look forward 
 with feelings of peculiar pleasure, this was the chief. If we 
 could give you a description of the fun of the fair as it was 
 then, and as we have often heard it described, we have no 
 doubt it would prove interesting. But suffice that we say, 
 those were the days of mountebanks, rope-dancers, jugglers, 
 conjurors and the like. Imagine all the most ludicrous noises 
 that men and animals are capable of producing, and fancy 
 the effect, where every conceivable musical instrument, (of 
 course out of tune,) is blown in every conceivable style, by 
 musicians, who produce the most dreadful discord in their 
 
103 
 
 efforts to outblow each other, and you will gain some notion 
 of the din and confusion of Morley Feast in those days. And 
 besides all this, there was “ Richardson’s,” where Thalia was 
 worshipped, if not with grace, at all events with vigour, and 
 where the showman, with leathern lungs and an enormous 
 whip, was inviting his patrons to “ walk up” as they “ are 
 just a-going to begin.” A monster panorama of the Battle 
 of Waterloo, wax-work exhibitions, where the “ figures are 
 more natural than life,” swings and round-abouts of every 
 description, and amongst the lesser, though more costly 
 attractions, we must not forget to mention the “ red cocks 
 and black cocks,” pricking the garter, knacks, pea and 
 thimble and others of a still more questionable character ; all 
 these with the buzz and laugh of hundreds of people ostensibly 
 bent on pleasure, made up of a scene of rustic enjoyment, 
 which the “ feast-days ” of the present time do not present. 
 With the decline of our “ village feast ” the wandering 
 exhibitions, once so familiar, have become nearly extinct, and 
 travelling giants, dwarfs, performing ponies, and wonderful 
 pigs, are almost at a discount. 
 
 At the present day, the Floral and Agricultural Exhibition, 
 is the principal out-door attraction of the feast; whilst beef, 
 pickled cabbage, and home-brewed beer are the staple pro¬ 
 visions of each household for indoor enjoyment; and for the 
 three days during which the carnival lasts, our village is in 
 a state of commotion unlike its ordinary every day appearance. 
 On the show day, the trains pour into the station thousands 
 of visitors, and conveyances of every description rattle along 
 the thoroughfares, filled with merry men and women, who 
 seem as though they had scented the good things afar off and 
 were hastening to enjoy them. The causeways are at the 
 same time darkened with long lines of foot passengers drawn 
 by the same attraction. We have been pleased to see, how 
 thoroughly both strangers and residents have appeared to 
 enjoy this feature of the feast, and appreciate this break, in 
 
109 
 
 the jog-trot routine of hard working and little leisure enjoying 
 Morley. 
 
 Guy Fawkes’ Day is still remembered, and shews no signs 
 of being forgotten by the boys of the village, who consider 
 this a great holiday, and for weeks previous, make extensive 
 preparations, to give it due celebration, Hone in his Every 
 Day Book, thus graphically describes their doings :—“About 
 this time ill is sure to betide the owner of an ill-secured 
 fence; stakes are extracted from hedges, and branches torn 
 from trees; crack, crack, goes loose paling ; deserted buildings 
 yield up their floorings; unbolted flip-flapping doors are 
 released from their hinges as supernumeraries ; and more 
 bumables are deemed lawful prize than the law allows. 
 These are secretly stored in some enclosed place, which other 
 ‘collectors’ cannot find, or dare not venture to invade.” How 
 far this description is correct may be gathered from the “ Town’s 
 Minutes.” “Resolved, on Nov. 6th, 1788, by a Public Town’s 
 Meeting, on Account of many Depredations committed upon 
 the property of the People of Morley, that, on the Fifth of 
 November of every succeeding year, the Constable shall charge 
 a sufficient number of men, and make a public search through¬ 
 out the Town by virtue of his Warrant, and put out or 
 extinguish all the Bonfires in this Township, at the honr of 
 Eleven at Night. Signed, Samuel Webster, John Webster, 
 Joseph Webster, Robert Dixon, and others. 
 
 Christmas was formerly kept in Morley with great festivity. 
 The yule-log was burnt on Christmas eve; the “Mummers” 
 went from inn to inn, and played their fantastic “ peace- 
 egg ” ; and the “ waits ” were about the streets from early 
 morn. A band of music paraded the streets throughout the 
 day, and called at the residences of the local aristocracy and 
 there were regaled with genuine Christmas fare. Ale and 
 cake were plentiful and liberally bestowed upon friends and 
 the poor were not forgotten ; for Morley has had its “Dorcas 
 Society ” for a long period, by which, the poor were and are 
 
 o 
 
no 
 
 still at this season, relieved without reference to sect or party. 
 
 Besides these regular holiday times, our villagers had other 
 occasional seasons of relaxation. “ Biding the Stang,” says 
 our historian, “upon a fight between husband and wife, was 
 in common use in Morley during the last century, hut is now 
 discontinued. A wanton wag, upon these occasions was 
 carried on a stang or pole, he was followed by a number of 
 such mischievous dogs as himself, and was set down or 
 mounted on a wall when the ‘ Nomine ’ was to he repeated.” 
 Another custom was called, “pack-sheeting.” “ When two 
 persons have been united in wedlock, if either party has had 
 other sweethearts, the unsuccessful are taken by their com¬ 
 panions and tossed into a wool pack sheet, with a few hearty 
 knocks on the ground, purposely inflicted, until the patient 
 consents to pay a small fine to be spent for the general 
 good. This imposition is termed paying socket.” This 
 custom of levying “ socket ” was also practised upon any 
 person who came “ a-courting ” from any of the neighbouring 
 villages to Morley. Another obsolete custom is that of 
 “ Trashing ” or pelting common people with old shoes, on 
 their return from church, upon the wedding day. Peram¬ 
 bulating the Parish Boundary was often practised in the days 
 of our forefathers, and was made the occasion of considerable 
 festivity. 
 
 “ That ev’ry man might keep his owne possessions, 
 
 Our father’s used, in reverent Processions, 
 
 (With zealous prayers, and with praiseful cheere,) 
 
 To walke their parish-limits once a year; 
 
 And well knowne marks (which sacrilegious hands 
 Now cut or breake) so bord’red out their lands, 
 
 That ev’ry one distinctly knew his owne ; 
 
 And many brawles, now rife, were then unknowne.” 
 
 Wither’s Emblems, Fol, 1635. page 161. 
 
 In January 1859 this ancient custom was revived, much to> 
 the amusement of “young Morley.” Many years had elapsed 
 since the last ceremony of the kind was performed, though 
 
Ill 
 
 according to Act of Parliament, the parish officers are allowed 
 to do it every three years. The following resolutions res¬ 
 pecting this matter were passed at a Town’s meeting, held 
 on January 14th, 1859. “ First, that the expenses of 
 
 perambulating the Township shall not he more than twelve 
 pounds. Second, that a Luncheon he provided, not to cost 
 more than three pounds ten shillings. Third, that ten 
 shillings shall be given to children, in copper, to be thrown 
 amongst them. Fourth, that the following four persons, have 
 five shillings each to walk the boundary, viz :•—John Middle- 
 brook, Bye-law man; James Foster, Pinder; John Johnson, 
 Surveyor, and Richard Boulton, Pinder for Lord Cardigan.” 
 
 Early in the morning of the appointed day, notwithstanding 
 the inclemency of the weather, a large number of the 
 inhabitants, comprising many of the hoys of the village, met 
 at the starting point. The Churwell boundary was first 
 defined. Here some little difficulty had to be encountered. 
 The dam connected with Crowther’s mill had to be passed 
 through ; by no means a pleasant task—a person was at last 
 found, however, who was venturesome enough to take a cold 
 bath on a winter’s morning. At various points of the journey 
 stakes were driven to mark the boundary. Much amusement 
 was created by the custom of bumping. Numbers of people 
 who were not previously acquainted with this ancient cere¬ 
 monial, were highly tickled by the mirth and good feeling of 
 those who were made to undergo the infliction ; the more so 
 as the stone used for the purpose was not perhaps so soft as 
 they might have wished. On arriving at the Dartmouth 
 Arms, luncheon was partaken of by the authorities, and the 
 youths were supplied with fruits, nuts, cakes, and other 
 eatables, much to their gratification. At the conclusion of 
 the day’s task, which was by no means an easy one, dinner 
 was provided at the Fountain Inn, of which all the officers, 
 and a number of invited friends partook. 
 
 Pursuing our walk along Albert Road towards the Bottoms 
 
112 
 
 we reach, on our left, a block of buildings originally used 
 as weaving shops, but now converted into dwelling-houses 
 and a Temperance Hall. The Temperance society was 
 commenced in Morley at a public meeting, held on Monday 
 July 9th, 1832; Dr. Swinden was in the chair, and expressed 
 his approval of, and sympathy with the movement. Since 
 that time, we are bound to admit that the Society has done 
 something for the intellectual and moral advancement of the 
 village, but they have not done nearly so much as they 
 either could or should do. Yet, for what they have done in 
 reclaiming many from drunkenness to sobriety, they are 
 entitled to our heartiest thanks. They have lately instituted 
 a set of meetings or “penny readings,” and they have 
 succeeded in proving that happiness and pleasure can be 
 obtained without having recourse to bodily stimulants. The 
 great drawbacks to temperance meetings in Morley is, 
 that the speeches generally contain too much hackneyed 
 matter, and have been confined to the advocacy of mere 
 abstract Teetotalism, with evident prejudice, against any 
 other remedy for social evils. We hope, however, that as 
 their prejudices wear away our Teetotalers will become a little 
 more tolerant, and lend a more liberal hand to progress and 
 improvement of all kinds. 
 
 Retracing our steps a little we come to a bend in the road, 
 near to Mount Pleasant (25a), a modem mansion, which 
 stands on one of the seven hills of this modern Rome. It is, 
 as its name implies, a pleasant spot—a choice comer of the 
 village, and the view thence across the valley to the meadows 
 and woods beyond, and over a wide stretch of picturesquely 
 varied country, including the mansions and grounds of Temple 
 Newsame, is perhaps, not equalled in the neighbourhood. The 
 house is occupied by Mr. Joshua Asquith, one of our guardians 
 of the poor, also a member and ex-chairman of our local 
 government. Mr. Asquith carries on the business of a wool 
 merchant in the neighbouring town of Leeds. 
 
MOUNT PLEASANT, MORLEY. 
 
113 
 
 By a gentle ascent we pass from Mount Pleasant to the top 
 of Troy Hill, passing on our way, a building, now occupied by 
 John Taylor and others, as dwelling-houses, but which was 
 erected nearly fifty years ago, for the purposes of public wor¬ 
 ship. In 1812, a new body of Christians sprang up in England, 
 the founders of which were two brothers, H. and J. Bourne, 
 natives and residents of Staffordshire. “ This body took the 
 name of Primitive Methodists, implying thereby, their desire 
 to restore Methodism to something resembling its original 
 character, in the days of Wesley and Nelson, from whose spirit, 
 they thought it had degenerated.” In 1819, they formed their 
 first circuit in Yorkshire, and soon after this time, a number 
 of their followers in Morley, built this chapel on Troy Road. 
 In 1826, dissension sprang up amongst this people, caused by 
 the female part of the congregation, imbibing the notions of 
 Ann Can’, then a noted “ Revivalist.” This led to a disrup¬ 
 tion, and ultimately the chapel was sold by one Samuel 
 Middlebrook, who held a mortgage upon it, to Mr. Isaac 
 Crowther, an extensive manufacturer in the village. This 
 gentleman occupied a leading position among the Wesleyan 
 Methodists in Morley, and the chapel was used for some time 
 by that body, the pulpit being supplied by local preachers con¬ 
 nected with the Birstal Circuit. 
 
 The first object worthy of notice on Troy Hill, is the large 
 and handsome edifice, known as the New School, (27) built in 
 1844, for the use of the congregation worshipping at the Old 
 Chapel, and used by them as a Sunday school since that time. 
 The building includes, besides the principal room, an infant 
 school, a cottage and two class rooms, the latter were added 
 in the year 1864. The school was opened in December, 1844. 
 On Sunday the 22nd, sermons were preached by the Rev. 
 Joseph Fox, of Leeds, and the Rev. John Morris, minister of 
 the place. On the following Wednesday, the Rev. John Ely, 
 of Leeds, preached, and on the following day, a tea meeting 
 was held, when a noble spirit of liberality was manifested ; the 
 
114 
 
 sum of one hundred and twelve pounds being subscribed in 
 the room. 
 
 Opposite this school, stands an old building that has served 
 well its day and generation, but could now be very well dis¬ 
 pensed with. We allude to the Town’s School, (27) the arena 
 of many a wordy war and village squabble. What a crowd of 
 associations cluster around this place ? The government of 
 the village, so far as regards town’s affairs, has had its home 
 here for more than a century, and could the history of all the 
 vestry meetings held within its walls be written, it would 
 reveal phases of village life, both curious and interesting. 
 Shall I sketch you a “vestry meeting” held exactly a century 
 ago ? Imagine then, that pursuant to custom, a public meet¬ 
 ing of the ratepayers is to be held on a certain day, at eleven 
 o’clock in the forenoon, to pass the accounts of the Overseers 
 of the Poor. Precisely as the Old Chapel bell has ceased to 
 announce the hour of meeting, three persons enter the school 
 room. Their names are as follows:—Mr. John Webster, a 
 well to-do manufacturer, Mr. Samuel Clark, an equally re¬ 
 spectable farmer, and Mr. Joseph Crowther, another “maister 
 clothier.” Having been joined by the officer whose accounts 
 they have met to pass, Mr. John Webster is then voted into 
 the chair, and at once assumes the post of honour. The 
 various items are read over, but no item of expenditure can 
 pass Mr. Samuel Clark without undergoing his keen sighted 
 scrutiny, for he was the Joseph Hume of that day, so far as 
 our village was concerned ; and he was at the same time the 
 most important, busy, active, and indefatigable person in town’s 
 matters then to be found in Morley ; and for the honour of the 
 landed interest in Morley, we may here say, that, until within 
 a recent period, one of their number has always been found to 
 ■exercise this vigilance over town’s affairs in money matters. 
 Mr. Clark comes at last to an item, and he thinks, like Captain 
 Cuttle, that when found, a note should be made of it, and an 
 •entry is at once made in the book to the following effect:— 
 
115 
 
 “John Webster, Freeholder and Hirling under Samuel 
 Crowther, charged Three Shillings and Sixpence for going to 
 Cottingly, being the first person ever Acted in so scandalous a 
 manner.” All objections being made and allowed or overruled, 
 the accounts are passed, and those present depart at 11.80 ; 
 and thus the farce of a Morley Town’s meeting was performed. 
 The accounts passed were as follows :— 
 
 “ 7th July, 1766 : Accompted then with Samuel Webster, 
 Overseer of the Poor, for the year last past, and he has 
 disburst, as appears, by the particulars of his accounts £120 
 12s. 8d., and he has reed, by 3 Assessments, £110 14s. 7d., 
 from other sources, £9 5s. Id., due to Sami. Webster, 13s. 
 
 8d. Allowed by us,— John Webster, Samuel Clark, Joseph 
 Crowther.” 
 
 Except on very special occasions, no great improvement has 
 taken place in the attendance at vestry meetings ; for on the 
 25th of March, 1865, a public meeting of the ratepayers was 
 announced to be held, to elect overseers of the poor and collectors 
 of assessed taxes. Mi'. Stead, the assistant overseer and a 
 friend were in attendance, and a grocer hard by, being called 
 in, the three not being honoured with the presence of the rate¬ 
 payers, proceeded to transact the business. The proceedings 
 lasted seven minutes, and the “vestry meeting” of 1865 was 
 duly entered in the Town’s Minute Book. We think this in¬ 
 attention to local town’s affairs deserving of mention here, in 
 the hope that some improvement may take place. 
 
 The principal governing power in the village, at present, is 
 the Local Board, consisting of twelve members, who hold office 
 for three years, four of whom retire annually in June. The 
 powers of the Board under the Local Government Act, 1858, 
 are varied, and have hitherto been used for the purpose of 
 placing Morley, in the matter of public improvements, on a 
 level with neighbouring places, and we are glad to record, that 
 it is in contemplation, (the surveys for the purpose are already 
 made) to establish waterworks with as little delay as possible, 
 
116 
 
 deriving their supply from Leeds. The Act was adopted, and 
 the first Board formed in the year 1862. No event for the 
 last quarter of a century has ever created such excitement in 
 our village, as the attempt to introduce this Act. The first 
 meeting called by the churchwardens to consider the propriety 
 of its adoption, was of a very disorderly character, and there 
 appeared hut small probability of any favourable resolution 
 being carried. A poll was demanded ; both friends and op¬ 
 ponents of the Act seemed determined to win, and bills, 
 placards, and other means were used to that end ; but on the 
 declaration of the poll by the returning officer, it was found 
 that the number of votes in favour of the adoption of the Act 
 was 633, whilst against it there were 480, leaving a majority 
 in favour of adoption of 153 votes. 0. Scatcherd, Esq., 
 solicitor, is Clerk to the Board. The meetings are held every 
 alternate Wednesday. The present Board consists of the 
 following persons:—Messrs. A. Scott, chair-man, Joshua 
 Asquith, William Smith, Jun., Josh.Rhodes, S. Rayner, Jun., 
 John Rayner, John Driver, T. Watson, E. Bradley, Edward 
 Jackson, Joseph A. Haigh, and Edward Stockwell. In putting 
 the Local Government Act into operation, the first Board, con¬ 
 sidered it necessary to have a survey of the district, and 
 accordingly plans were made by James Lumley, Esq., C.E., 
 of Bradford, to whom has been entrusted the superintendance 
 of the drainage and water supply also. 
 
 The ancient office of “ Town’s Constable ” was abolished a 
 few years ago, on the introduction of the police into the village, 
 under the auspices of the West Riding Constabulary arrange¬ 
 ments, and at present, our streets echo nightly to the tramp 
 of these guardians of the peace. In former days, when 
 troubles were abroad in the land, the dwellings of our fore¬ 
 fathers were nightly protected by a local body of watchmen, 
 known as the “ Watch and Ward,” who were provided with 
 long spears and other means of defence. Some of these are 
 still to be found in the possession of our villagers, but were 
 
117 
 
 formerly kept in a room at the Town’s School amongst other 
 public property. That property in 1816, we find consisted 
 of the following articles :— 
 
 “ Inventory of the Weights, Measures, &c., belonging the 
 Township of Morley, taken this 30th day of December, 1816 
 and delivered to Wm. Marshall, the present Constable by 
 Wm. Wilkinson. 2 Constable’s Staves ; 1 Pair Handcuffs 
 and Lock; 1 Beam, Scales and Standard; 2 Eight Pound 
 Weights; 1 Four Pound Weight; 1 Three and a Half do., 
 
 1 Stroke Measure and Roller; 1 Pint Wine Measure, and 
 1 Jack Do ; 1 Pint Ale Measure; 1 Vagrant Whip. 
 
 Signed W. Wilkinson. 
 
 When the Town’s School was built we cannot ascertain, but 
 we know that until 1720 it was occupied as a dwelling-house, 
 for in that year an Indenture was made “between William 
 Walter, Earl of Dartmouth of the one part, and Samuel 
 Scatcherd, gentleman ; John Dawson, gentleman; Rev. 
 Timothy Olroyd, clerk; Jonathan Fothergill, clothier, and 
 Samuel Webster, yeoman ; of the second part ; whereby he, 
 the said Earl of Dartmouth out of the love and affection he 
 hath towards the people of Morley, and his desire that the 
 youth of that place should be taught reading, writing and 
 good-manners, doth lease to the said parties for 1000 
 years, one rood of land, on which there stands at present a 
 dwelling-house, which is to be converted into a school and 
 the adjoining land fenced off as a play-ground, by the said 
 trustees, and in consideration of this grant, they shall pay 
 one shilling yearly, at the feast of Pentecost, to the said Earl 
 of Dartmouth, so often as it shall be demanded, but should 
 the said building at any time be appropriated to other pur¬ 
 poses than those of teaching, the said trustees are to pay 
 10s. yearly, to the said Earl.” This is the substance of the 
 Indenture, witnessed by Eras. Manvers and Richard Pierson, 
 by which, the town has had the use of the school from that 
 time to the present. 
 
 p 
 
118 
 
 Several attempts have been made to obtain possession of 
 the school for private purposes, but hitherto these attempts 
 have failed. In 1888, the overseers of the poor received 
 notice from certain influential gentlemen in the village, to 
 meet them at the National School, when they were informed 
 that the said gentlemen had received orders to take the school 
 into their possession and they should have it. The overseers 
 told them, that they had no power to give it up, as it was 
 considered to be the town’s property, and was in the 
 possession of Mr. Swainson, the schoolmaster. A town’s 
 meeting was held on the matter ; John Webster, Esq., manu¬ 
 facturer, in the chair, when after a lengthy discussion it 
 appeared that “ the whole affair had originated with the 
 Church party, in revenge for the church rates having been 
 refused.” 
 
 Connected with this school-house we well remember, as do 
 many in our village, many long and wearisome days spent 
 here, in pursuit of knowledge, though these were intermingled 
 with a few of a happier description. But the place is now 
 dismantled, and the desks and forms are gone, at which we 
 once toiled at the drudgery of learning. Often, when we 
 visit the old school-room, we mark the spot, where our 
 mighty pedagogue had his desk, and from whence he issued 
 his mandates. The place is now deserted; dust and cobwebs 
 occupy the places that once resounded to the mirth of child¬ 
 hood. Our schoolmaster answered to Goldsmith’s description, 
 
 “ A man severe ho was and stem to view, 
 
 ijC 5|C i|C Jfc 
 
 Yet lie was kind ; or if severe in aught, 
 
 The love he bore to learning was in fault; 
 
 The village all declared how much he knew ; 
 
 ’Twas certain he could read and cypher too ; 
 
 * * * * * 
 
 But past is all his fame. The very spot, 
 
 Where many a time he triumph’d is forgot.” 
 
 A day school has been kept here for one hundred and forty 
 
119 
 
 years, but no account is preserved as to who were the early 
 masters of the school. Fifty years ago one Balmforth, then 
 Trenholme occupied the position, and after them the master 
 whom we have endeavoured to describe. Mr. Swainson also 
 filled the offices of Town’s Husband, Assistant Overseer, 
 Clerk to the Surveyors, Registrar, Town’s Valuer, and we 
 know not what besides, until his death, which took place 
 in 1849. 
 
 A Sunday school was kept here, half a century ago or 
 more, the only one in the village with the exception of the 
 Methodist’s school. Mr. Jonathan Kirk, was one of the 
 first teachers and was paid for his services. When the 
 Dissenters, worshipping at the Old New Chapel, formed a 
 Sunday school, it was also held in this place, the scholars 
 of the two schools being divided by a partition. Mr. John 
 Jones, a Welshman, then resident in Morley, was the paid 
 teacher on behalf of the Old Chapel people and Mr. Ananiah 
 Illingworth,—a famous singer,—on behalf of the Old New 
 Chapel people. This continued for some years, till the last 
 named rented another place. The Old Chapel school was 
 however continued till 1844, when a new school was built, to 
 which reference has been already made. 
 
 Leaving the school and proceeding a short distance between 
 two plantations, we come to the Three Steps, a well known 
 place in our village, Around us are luxuriant groups of trees 
 and to our right Scatcherd’s lane, a favourite walk with our 
 villagers, both old and young; in fact it seems as though it 
 had been 
 
 “ For talking age and wliisp’ring lovers made.” 
 
 On a summer’s evening, it is pleasant indeed to walk to the 
 railway bridge, and there listen to the noises that come from 
 the village below. It fully realizes the beautiful description 
 here given,— 
 
 “ Up yonder lane the village murmur rose; 
 
 There as I pass’d with careless steps and slow, 
 
120 
 
 The mingling notes came soften’d from below ; 
 
 The swain responsive as the milk-maid sung, 
 
 The herd that low’d to meet their young; 
 
 The noisy geese that gabbled o’er the pool, 
 
 The playful children just let loose from school; 
 
 The watch dog’s voice that bay'd the whisp’ring wind, 
 
 And the loud laugh that spoke the vacant mind.” 
 
 Adjoining the lane, are the gardens and pleasure grounds, 
 belonging to Mokley House (28) the residence of the 
 Scatcherd family, for many generations. The first of the 
 family, of whom we have any account, is one Matthew 
 Scatcherd, of whom it is said that, “ he was an opulent 
 merchant in the proudest days of England’s glory.” He was 
 married at Batley, in 1656, to Miss Elizabeth Hudson, who 
 brought him three sons—Thomas, Matthew, and John, and 
 several daughters. Besides his personal property he had 
 handsome real estates, at Morley, Birstal, Heckmondwike, 
 and Healey. He died and was interred at Batley, in 1688, 
 the year of the second Revolution. In the History of 
 Barnsley, we find a list of those who served in the Militia, under 
 Sir Michael Wentworth, in 1680, and Morley was represented 
 by “ Matthew Scatcher,—Musketeer. Thos. Craster,—Pike- 
 man.” 
 
 The Thomas Scatcherd, above mentioned, was married in 
 1687 to Miss Jane Smurthwaite, and his tombstone records 
 that he died the 20th of May 1700, his wife having previously 
 left him a widower, on the 4th of September 1691. This 
 person was appointed one of the trustees of the Old Chapel, 
 in the trust deed bearing date, the 17th of May 1687. 
 
 Samuel Scatcherd, eldest son of the aforesaid Thomas 
 Scatcherd, is the nest in order. He married Mary, grand¬ 
 daughter of the celebrated Major Greatheed—a lady, of whom 
 it is said that, “ if but a small part of what is related by those 
 who knew her well were told, the reader would suppose her to 
 have been some ideal model of perfection and to her has been 
 ascribed the praiseworthy and difficult feat of transforming her 
 
121 
 
 husband from a boisterous country gentleman, to a decent, 
 rational and sober man. ” 
 
 In 1768, Samuel Scatcherd, the younger, son of the above, 
 appears by name, in the Old Chapel trust deed, and nothing 
 more is recorded of him. 
 
 To this Samuel, was bom Watson Scatcherd, of whom it is 
 written : “ in 1778, he married Frances, third daughter of the 
 Eev. John Fountaine, rector of North Tidmouth in Wiltshire, 
 (an intimate friend of the celebrated Handel.) He was 
 educated in the law, under Warren, an eminent special 
 pleader. For about thirty years he practised as a Barrister 
 and in very unpleasant times served the public as a magistrate 
 without any profit to himself, or inordinate benefit to his 
 clerk.” 
 
 Norrisson Cavendish, son of the last mentioned, was bom 
 February 29th 1780. He was educated at Marylebone and 
 Hipperholme, and after graduating at Cambridge, was called 
 to the bar by the Honourable Society of Gray’s Inn on the 
 28th of November 1806. He practised only for a short time 
 and then betook himself to literature and antiquarian pursuits. 
 He will be remembered chiefly as the Author of the “History 
 of Morley and its surrounding Villages,” published in 1880. 
 Respecting this work and its author we may write, as Dr. 
 Johnson wrote of a celebrated Bishop. “ His knowledge 
 was too multifarious to be always exact; his pursuits too 
 eager to be always cautious. His abilities gave him too much 
 confidence, which he did not conceal. He used no allure¬ 
 ments of gentle language ; his style is copious without selection 
 and he took his words as they presented themselves.” Our 
 historian looked with a somewhat prejudiced eye on the 
 changes going on, during his lifetime in his native village, 
 more especially with regard to the factory system, and other 
 imaginary evils connected with the woollen manufacture ; and 
 he predicted results far different to what have been realized. 
 With these exceptions, our historian was a specimen of the “ fine 
 
122 
 
 old English gentleman.” As an illustration of his liberality, 
 we may mention that, in 1821 in consequence of the agricul¬ 
 tural distress throughout the district, he returned ten per cent 
 to his tenants, and intimated that he should continue to do so, 
 so long as the distress continued. In politics, he was a most 
 devoted Whig. Writing in 1888 of Lord John Kussell, he 
 says :—“If any name be dear and justly dear to Englishmen, 
 it is that of Russell, as illustrious in the 19th as the 17th 
 century; though many should forsake him, yet will not I. 
 The Conservatives shall find me, like Chatham, in this— 
 “ faithful among the faithless.” I have no office to ask of 
 any great man, nor will I prostitute myself to please any man 
 upon earth. I am not after the flesh-pots of Egypt, or likely 
 to sell my birthright for a mess of pottage, I am getting an 
 old man, and it is too late in the day for me to become an 
 apostate.” Mr. Scatcherd also wrote a little work entitled 
 “Memoirs of the celebrated Eugene Aram, who was executed 
 for the murder of Daniel Clark in 1759.” He subsequently 
 wrote two other books; “Gleanings after Eugene Aram,” 
 and “ A Treatise on Bridge Chapels, including the history 
 of the Chapel upon Wakefield Bridge.” He was also a con¬ 
 tributor to the Gentleman’s Magazine. In January 1851 
 he had the gratification to be elected a Fellow of the Society 
 of Antiquaries. As an Antiquarian, Mr. Scatcherd possessed 
 many curious and interesting relics of former times, amongst 
 which we may mention that he had an ingenious piece of 
 mechanism, of ancient and approved efficacy in suppressing 
 the license of female tongues, namely, a Brank, or “ Lucy’s 
 Muzzle,” now deposited in the museum of the Leeds 
 Philosophical Society. According to Plott, an old writer, “ this 
 artifice is much to be preferred to the ducking-stool, which 
 not only endangers the health of the party, but also gives the 
 tongue liberty betwixt every dip ; to neither of which is this at 
 all liable, it being such a bridle for the tongue, as not only 
 quite deprives them of speech, but brings shame for the trans- 
 
123 
 
 gression and humility thereupon before it is taken off; which 
 being upon the offender by order of the magistrate, and fas¬ 
 tened with a padlock behind, she is led round the town by an 
 officer, to her shame ; nor is it taken off, till after the party 
 begins to shew external signs of humiliation and amendment.” 
 
 Watson, eldest son of our “village squire,” was an attorney 
 in Morley for a few years, but was suddenly cut off, by death, 
 soon after his marriage, leaving a widow and an only son. 
 
 From the Three Steps, a short walk brings us to the gates 
 of the Old Chapel. Here, formerly, stood the Village Stocks 
 where our ancestors used to sit, when paying the penalty of 
 some misdemeanour. Many expedients were resorted to by 
 them to escape this public exposure, and often with success ; 
 but sad was the case of him, who, being found guilty, was too 
 poor to find a bribe in the shape of a peace offering. With, 
 perhaps, a keen sense of his situation, and fully alive to the 
 folly of his conduct, he was without any pity, confined, publicly 
 exhibited, and thus exposed to the taunts and sneers of the 
 rabble, and to the serious reprobation of his conduct by his 
 more respectable fellow townsmen. This punishment was 
 looked upon by our forefathers as most degrading, and as sure 
 to entail upon the subject, a stained character and permanent 
 disgrace. It was no uncommon thing for an offender put into 
 the stocks for the first time, and that for some petty misde¬ 
 meanour, to endeavour to hide his shame by a course of 
 drunkenness, until at last he became an outcast of society, and 
 gained a very unenviable but homely acquaintance with the 
 stocks. The use of the stocks in Morley was abandoned long 
 before their removal from this place, and they were for a long 
 time preserved as a memento of the erroneous methods once 
 employed for the punishment and reformation of evildoers. 
 
RAMBLE VI. 
 
 “ Time consecrates; 
 
 And what is gray with age becomes religion.” 
 
 Schiller. 
 
 “ The old parish church is, in every parish, the strongest link that 
 binds the present with the past. Its associations cannot fail to excite 
 the patriotism latent in the heart of every man, for its walls have looked 
 down on each succeeding generation, and its aisles have been trodden 
 by the Very men who have wrought those noble deeds which every 
 country can remember with pride and exultation.” 
 
 Wheater. 
 
 “We have no right to tamper with early historical monuments, least of 
 all, have we any right to work our destruction under the specious pretence 
 of Restoration.” 
 
 Bodtell, in Art Journal. 
 
 The Old Chapel (29) in Morley was, previous to its so- 
 called “restoration” of 1865, by far the most interesting 
 object in our village; but it has, by that act, been shorn of 
 much of its attractiveness, and we cannot allow this opportunity 
 to pass without condemning that process of “beautifying and 
 repairing” which, an authority on such matters has well defined, 
 as “one of those processes of modem times so often fatal to 
 the structures submitted to them.” We admit that, externally, 
 we can yet get some conception of its ancient form, hut where 
 is the ancient chancel, in which the Romish priests said their 
 ave-marias and paternosters, and which was subsequently the 
 village school-house, and of late, the “queer end” of this 
 house of worship ? Where is the doorway, with its hoh-nailed 
 door, which led into that part of God’s house, on which we 
 have often looked, and thought of those who assembled there 
 for many generations ; the villager, who probably never heard 
 
125 
 
 the preacher’s voice, except in this place, and the fearless 
 Christian, who in times of persecution still visited its hallowed 
 fane? As we have thus gazed we have felt that, “there is 
 a pleasure and a meaning in the voice of bygone days 
 And where also is the old clock, with its antique diamond¬ 
 shaped dial that was looked up to, in our school-days as it 
 had been for long years before, by the boys in the old school- 
 house on Troy Hill, as to the face of an old friend, and was 
 regarded in much the same light by the villagers generally ? 
 And if we enter the building, we miss the impressive silence 
 that once reigned in its lonely aisles, broken only by the 
 ticking of that monitor of time of which we have just spoken. 
 We miss the old oak-pews too with their curious carvings, 
 ancient inscriptions and solid substantial fittings, all black 
 with age, which often reminded us, in many ways, of the times 
 when they were occupied by the village patriarchs and others, 
 who went there as our historian informs us “ not to hear an 
 unpremeditated rhapsody—a mere jingle of scripture phrases, 
 —a visionary exposition of internal feelings, called ‘ ex¬ 
 periences’, but to listen to the importance of social duties and 
 the absolute necessity of a good life, as a preparation for 
 eternity.” And we miss, also, those good and instructive 
 texts that once adorned the walls of this venerable edifice, and 
 which were calculated to instruct both old and young. Who 
 shall say, how often the rising of some rebellious spirit has 
 been quelled by the silent teaching of those few words, once 
 painted over the little window on the north-east side of the 
 chapel?:—“Blessed are the peace-makers, for they shall be 
 called the children of God?” May not many a young man, 
 just entering into the business of life, have received more good 
 from the voiceless utterance of the following text, than from 
 many much louder appeals from the pulpit:—“ Remember 
 now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days 
 come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I 
 have no pleasure in them.” Again, is it not more than 
 
 Q 
 
126 
 
 probable that some wandering eye may have lighted on this 
 passage on the wall ?:—“ He hath shewed thee, 0 man, what 
 is good ; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do 
 justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God ?” 
 And may not these sentiments have found a lodgment in the 
 heart and been worked out in the life ? And, lastly, we miss 
 the gallery, where the “ village choir ” used to sing out— 
 
 “ Those great old psalms, 
 
 Familiar as a mother’s face, but grand 
 As is the countenance of heaven with stars.” 
 
 Shall we recall the scene presented on each successive Sunday 
 in this gallery as it was seventy years ago ? In the principal 
 position, amongst the motley group collected there every 
 Sunday, was old John Chappell, whose face looked down with 
 great content on his “ beloved violincello ” the tones of which 
 were brought out, by all appearance, by the movements of the 
 head rather than the hands. Next to him, was John 
 Bilborough with his left-handed fiddle, and on the other side, 
 a person who played a wretched flute ; this constituted the 
 instrumental portion of the choir previous to the introduction 
 of a small organ in 1798. Of the singers, the chief was one 
 Ananiah Illingworth, who, it is said, was an excellent 
 musician,—“well able to sing a piece of music at first sight, 
 if the words were known to him, to which that music was 
 adapted.” He was able to sing upon any clef; even the old 
 obsolete clefs, pertaining (once) to church music, did not half 
 so much puzzle him as the reading of words.” Others, of 
 inferior abilities, were in that gallery, and these were supple¬ 
 mented by a “ set of young lads, yelping about them.” Well 
 might it be remarked, of the gallery at that time that “ it was 
 a sight for a painter.” We might continue our retrospect, but 
 our intention is rather, to give a condensed history of the 
 place than to indulge in regretful moralizings. 
 
 Previous to the alterations of which we have spoken, it might 
 with truth have been said regarding the Old Chapel, that 
 
127 
 
 “ there are scattered throughout this England of ours, many 
 edifices, to whose history such peculiar interest attaches, that 
 they would seem to have been handed down by Time on his 
 way to eternity, as memorials to revive the recollections of 
 eventful periods in the annals of nations, and this is of 
 them." The origin of this ancient edifice is not lost in the 
 obscurity of antiquity, but around it there lingers the memory 
 of many centuries of devotion. It has been ascertained, 
 beyond doubt, that a place for the worship of Almighty God 
 existed on this spot in the time of the Saxon Heptarchy 
 (A.D. 455-827). It is further on record that in the time of 
 Edward the Confessor, (A.D. 1042-66), there was a Church 
 at Morley, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, and that the offerings 
 and oblations, pertaining thereto, were considerable. In 
 Doomsday book, compiled in the reign of William the 
 Conqueror (A.D. 1066-86,) it is written :—“There is a 
 church at Morley—a native wood, one mile long and one 
 broad.” All vestiges of this wood, which, undoubtedly 
 stretched from the church of St. Mary’s to the beck at 
 Middleton Wood, have long since disappeared. Another 
 passage in the same book is thus rendered:—“According 
 to the verdict of the men of Morelege (Morley) Wapentake, 
 concerning the church of St. Mary, which is in Morley Wood, 
 the King has a moiety of the three Festivals of St. Mary’s 
 which belongs to Wakefield. Ilbert and the priests who 
 serve the church have all the rest.” One or two more testi¬ 
 monies as to the antiquity of the church of St. Mary, and we 
 pass on to give the history of the Old Chapel which was 
 another foundation. Whitaker, in his celebrated work 
 “ Loidis and Elmete” thus speaks of it:—“Morley, which 
 denominates the Hundred, had at the time of the Doomsday 
 survey a parish Church—to the dependent state of a chapel 
 to Batley, it was reduced by Robert de Lacy, founder of the 
 latter church, and so it seems to have continued till the great 
 rebellion, when it underwent a second degradation, being then 
 
128 
 
 leased out by Savile, Earl of Sussex, to certain Presbyterian 
 trustees for the term of five hundred years ; in consequence 
 of which, it remains, perhaps, the only instance throughout 
 England and Wales of an ancient established place of worship, 
 which was not restored to 'the established church at the 
 Reformation.” 
 
 Dr. Whitaker, further says :—speaking of the church at 
 Wakefield,—“I am persuaded that though the church at 
 Wakefield was in existence in the Conqueror’s reign, it was 
 not one of the original Saxon churches, of which, in the 
 hundred of Morley, there were only two; namely, Morley, 
 itself the hundred church, and Dewsbury,” and the Doctor 
 goes on to show that, Wakefield church was taken out of the 
 original parish of Morley. It is curious and interesting to 
 read the Doctor’s theories for we see in them, how in the 
 absence of facts, a plausible statement may be elaborated 
 which shall mislead the reader even as much as it has mislead 
 the author who concocted it. No part of Dr. Whitaker’s 
 book is more purely theoretical than his attempt to connect 
 the Old Chapel of Morley, with the church mentioned in 
 Doomsday as being there. We shall however present our 
 readers with facts, and by their light will be revealed the 
 history of that fabric which at the hands of “certain Presby¬ 
 terian trustees ” underwent what an insolently contemptuous 
 churchman is pleased to designate as a “second degradation ”. 
 
 That there was a Church at Morley in the Saxon times is 
 an indisputable fact, for Doomsday book speaks of it, and we 
 believe that this church continued to exist for some time after 
 the Conquest. We are also informed that, shortly after the 
 Conquest it was made a dependent chapel to Batley, by Robert 
 de Lacy. This must have been previous to the year 1120, 
 for in that year this Robert de Lacy founded the priory of 
 Nostel, to which he gave the Church of Batley. From this 
 fact, together with the omission of all mention of the Church 
 of Morley, we may argue that Morley church had sunk into 
 
129 
 
 the condition of a dependent Chapel and was then conveyed, 
 as such, to Nostel, by the gift of the then parent church of 
 Batley. After this time we believe that the chapel at Morley 
 declined and probably soon fell into decay, for there remains 
 a notice which goes very far indeed to prove that no such 
 building existed here, even when Henry III. ascended the 
 throne in 1216. Some parts of the manor of Morley had 
 been given to the Priory of St. Oswald at Nostel. Burton’s 
 Monasticon tells us, that Ralph de Insula and William his son 
 or brother gave twelve oxgangs of land, and that Robert, son 
 of Herbert de Beeston gave twelve acres more to the same 
 Priory. Ralph de Insula orDeLisle was a member of thefamily 
 of Rougemonte, a now forgotten place upon the banks of 
 the Wharfe : and the Beestons were lords of the manor of 
 Beeston, near Leeds. Both families were magnates in the 
 Norman period, and both were immense possessors of land in 
 Morley for a considerable space of time There is an account 
 of Morley in the Harl. MS. 797 which shews the connexion 
 of these families therewith, and those notices we shall 
 now use. In the 4th John, 1202, a case was investigated 
 between Adam de Beeston demandant, and Elias de Morley, 
 tenant, concerning one carucate of land in Morley, and the 
 right of inheritance was settled upon the aforesaid Adam. 
 These Morleys appear to have been of some importance, and 
 by them was another link added to the chain which connected 
 Morley with the priory of Nostel. The Coucher book of 
 Nostel informs us that Elias, son of Adam de Morlai gave to 
 God and to the Church of St. Trinity of York and to the 
 church of Holbeck, one oxgang of land in the Town of Morley. 
 Stephen, Prior of St. Trinity, of York conveyed by charter to 
 the monks of Nostel the same oxgang of land which Helias 
 de Morley had given to his house. When the house of' 
 De Morley became extinct it does not appear, but they seem to 
 have been succeeded by the Beestons, who were also bene¬ 
 factors to Kirkstall Abbey. The Coucher book of that house 
 
130 
 
 tells us Hugh de Beeston gave ten acres of land in Morley 
 to the monks of Kirkstall. In the 11th Hen. III. 1226, the 
 King confirms to the church of St Oswald of Nostel the gift 
 of Robert the son of Robert de Beeston of twelve acres of 
 land in Morley. And they have bequeathed land in Morley to 
 other institutions. In the charter of confirmation to the 
 house of St. Nicholas of Pontefract it is stated that Robert 
 the son of Herbert de Beeston gave twelve acres of land in 
 Morley. The priory of Nostel also acquired lands in Morley 
 from the family of De Lisle between whom, and the Beestons, 
 the entire township seems to have been divided. In 1226 
 their connexion with Morley seems to have ceased by the 
 marriage of Euphemia De Lisle with Nicholas de Rotherfield, 
 whose heirs henceforth seem to have taken the prominence 
 their maternal ancestor had previously possessed. In that 
 year a suit arose between Nicholas de Rotherfield and 
 Euphemia his wife, plantiffs, and Marmaduke Davil and 
 Helewisa his wife, tenants, and heirs of William de Insula, 
 respecting land in Morley. It is to this Nicholas and his 
 wife Euphemia that we would draw attention, for it is at their 
 instance that the Chapel of Morley was founded. In folio 85 of 
 the Nostel Coucher we find a notice respecting the Chapel of 
 St. Nicholas of Morley, wherein we are told, that John the 
 prior and Convent of St. Oswald, of Nostel grant to Nicholas 
 de Rotherfield and Euphemia his wife and to their heirs a 
 license that they may have for ever a Chaplain in the Chapel 
 of St. Nicholas of Morley, celebrating every day divine offices 
 at their salary, and the aforesaid Nicholas and Euphemia for 
 this grant have given unto us one oxgang of land in Morley. 
 This then is beyond all doubt the origin of the Old Chapel of 
 Morley whose chancel is said to be “ apparently, of higher 
 antiquity than even Edward II’s reign.” There is however 
 something conflicting in the further account (on folio 88 of 
 the Coucher book) that Prior Robert of Nostel granted to 
 Euphemia, sometime the wife of Nicholas de Rotherfield, a 
 
181 
 
 chapel in her court of Morley, in which she may hear divine 
 service only for her life, saving in all things the indemnity 
 of the mother church of Batelai. Long after this period the 
 Rotherfields continued to live in Morley as its lords. In the 
 26th Edward I. 1297, a case was tried before John de 
 Metingham and his associates, Justices of the Lord the King 
 respecting the seizure of land in Morley belonging or reported 
 to belong to the Prior of Nostel. William de Beeston, Hugh 
 his brother, Peter de Rotherfield and others were said to have 
 unjustly disseised the Prior of Oswald of the Common of 
 Pasture which belonged to his free tenement in the same town ; 
 and the jurors said upon oath that the aforesaid Prior caused 
 his cattle to roam from his manor of Rowwell to his aforesaid 
 messuage in Morley, for the dunging his land and for the 
 feeding of those cattle in the aforesaid common as he was 
 wont to do. The suit terminated in favour of the Prior who 
 was ordered to recover his seizin. 
 
 In the account of the receiver of Pontefract 9th Edward II. 
 1315, we find that 58s. 6d. were paid for the relief of John 
 de Rotherfield for half a knight’s fee, the eight and sixteenth 
 part of one knight’s fee in Morley, Drighlington, and Beeston. 
 It seems probable that Peter de Rotherfield, the ancestor of 
 the above John, was killed in the fatal battle of Bannockburn, 
 which had taken place in the previous year. John de Rother¬ 
 field held his hereditary possessions in Morley until the 38th 
 Edw. Ill 1364. From the Pontefract accounts, we learn that 
 Adam son of John de Rotherfield, paid £10 for the relief of 
 two knight’s fees, in Queldale, Sutton, Morley, and Austhorpe 
 after the decease of the same John. The last of their house, 
 appears to have been Albredus de Rotherfield, for we find 
 from the feodary account, that John Mirfield, William Beeston 
 and Christopher Ward, paid £5 for the relief of one knight’s 
 fee, in Morley, Beeston, and Drighlington, which Albredus de 
 Rotherfield sometime held. 
 
 The John Mirfield was no doubt of the family of Mirfield of 
 
132 
 
 Batley. Scatcherd tells us, their ancient manor house, or 
 family seat, stood, in what is now called, the “ Hall-Croft.” 
 After the decay of the Rotherfield family, they appear to have 
 been of most importance in Morley. In the 10th Hen. VI. 
 1431, a suit was instituted, between William Mirfield, Esq., 
 plaintiff, and William Richardson, of Morley, son of John 
 Richardson, deforet., of two tofts, sixty acres of land, fourteen 
 acres of meadow, twelve acres of pasture, and two acres of 
 wood, with the appurtenances in Morley. The right was ad¬ 
 judicated to William Mirfield and his heirs. In the 1st Edw. 
 IV, 1461, the feoffees of Oliver Mirfield, who had died in that 
 year, had power to make over an estate at Morley to William 
 Mirfield his son, and to the heirs of his body begotten. In 
 the 1st Henry VIII. this William Mirfield seems to have died, 
 for in that year William his son paid relief for half a knight’s 
 fee in Morley, Beeston, and Drighlington. 
 
 With all these associations clustering round this building, 
 and with the certain knowledge, that some portion of the then 
 existing edifice, had stood for more than six centuries, can we 
 wonder, that it should have come to be regarded with a feeling, 
 almost of veneration, by those whose ancestors had frequented 
 it for centuries, and can it be a matter for surprise that, many 
 whose life-long associations were entwined around the old 
 place, should have deemed the late partial destruction of it, as 
 a most unwarrantable, if not indeed a sacrilegious act ? 
 
 Having now settled the question as to the antiquity of this 
 chapel, we will proceed to speak of its appearance before the 
 late “ restoration.” 
 
 The chancel, or east end, was the oldest part, and was built 
 in the early part of the thirteenth century, but some portion 
 of that erection, it is supposed, was destroyed by fire about 
 the year A.D. 1318, when the village and church were set fire 
 to by the ravaging Scots. The materials of this chancel were 
 nothing more than cobble stones which had never been coursed 
 or even tooled with the pick-axe ; the rafters of the roof were 
 
133 
 
 placed on corbels or projections of stone; and within the 
 building there was a projecting stone in the form of a heart, 
 evidently, a remnant of Catholicism, and intended to hold a 
 crucifix. Of the chancel, Scatcherd says,—“ It may be 
 conjectured, with some probability, to have been part of a 
 church, erected upon the site of the original church of St. 
 Mary’s, by one of the De Lacys, about the beginning of the 
 twelfth century; and judging of them from what our old 
 historians relate, I should, certainly, give the honour of it to 
 Robert, the son of Ilbert; for he it was who reduced the 
 church at Morley to a chapelry, dependent on Batley, in the 
 reign of Henry I.” Our historian’s conjecture as to the 
 chancel forming part of a church or chapel erected on the site 
 of the original church of St. Mary's, is doubtless correct; but 
 we have shewn that its erection does not date back to “ the 
 beginning of the twelfth century”, nor yet that the honour of 
 the erection is due to one of the De Lacys. The nave, or 
 body of the chapel, is still preserved to us, and though it 
 lacks the age of that portion, of which we have just been 
 writing, there are interesting particulars connected with it. 
 The removal of the plaster in 1865, revealed to view many 
 carved stones of a zigzag pattern, set in courses, and mostly 
 in the south wall, probably a portion of the chapel of St. 
 Nicholas. As nearly as can be ascertained, the nave was 
 erected about the year 1560, and from its peculiar construction, 
 its similarity to the tithe-barn at Birstal, and from the 
 traditions respecting it, there is reason to believe that it was 
 formerly the tithe-barn of the lord of the manor. When the 
 tithes began to be compounded for, it became useless for this 
 purpose, and as far as our information will enable us to judge, 
 it was converted into a place of worship, about the time of 
 James or Charles I. It was, however, soon after the times of 
 the Commonwealth, that its greatest improvement took place. 
 This opinion is borne out by a discovery, made some fifty 
 years ago, of several ancient scrolls on the walls; whose 
 
 B 
 
134 
 
 inscriptions indicate, with considerable certainty, the time 
 when they were written. One of these inscriptions ran as 
 follows :—“ My Son, fear thou the Lord and the King, and 
 meddle not with them that are given to change.” The rest of 
 these admonitory texts were of a similar character, and near 
 to the one we have quoted was the Royal Coat of Arms, with 
 the letters “ C.R.” on each side of the crown and also above 
 the lion’s head, and the date 1664 underneath the whole. At 
 that time it was common to affix upon walls, passages 
 from scripture calculated to keep up a feeling of loyalty, and 
 to inculcate a spirit of submission to the restored dynasty. 
 Stowe, in his Chronicles, thus explains the origin of this 
 custom;—“The practice of pulling down images and crucifixes 
 began in the reign of Edward VI., and as these symptoms of 
 a defunct religion disappeared, the walls of the churches 
 became decorated with inscriptions, consisting of appropriate 
 passages of scripture.” Scatcherd, in his History, gives it as 
 his opinion that, the inscriptions in the Old Chapel were 
 levelled at Major Greatheed, Captain Oates, and all those who 
 had been privy to the Farnley Wood Plot in the year 1663, 
 and also as a rebuke to the Republicans throughout the land. 
 The nave of the chapel, «veni after the improvements to which 
 we have referred, was anything but a comfortable or respect¬ 
 able-looking place of worship. At this time, it was a separate 
 building, the chancel being used as a school and vestry, and 
 it was not till 1688 that the nave of the chapel was under¬ 
 drawn, and the chancel thrown into the main body of the 
 edifice. From this time, until 1865, the appearance of the 
 chapel was only altered as occasional circumstances required, 
 and these alterations were of minor importance, such as the 
 addition of a gallery, the erection of an organ, bell and clock, 
 none of which, destroyed the antiquity of the building itself. 
 The first-named of these alterations was made about seventy 
 years ago, when an organ was put into the gallery. When the 
 clock was put up we cannot say, but its ponderous mechanism 
 
135 
 
 proved it to be of a very early date. We have no doubt that 
 it was first placed in its conspicuous position, at the west-end 
 of the chapel, to supply a want which had long been felt in 
 the village. This piece of mechanism though of great sendee, 
 as the parochial time keeper, was, in one respect, an intoler¬ 
 able nuisance. The works, including the bell, were placed 
 over the singers’ gallery, and when giving warning to strike 
 the hour, it was sure to call the attention of the congregation, 
 more especially any strangers, to its noisy performance, 
 however interesting the portion of the service going on, might 
 be. The bell on which the hour was struck, and which, still 
 remains, is dated 1683, and the motto, “ Soli Deo Gloria ”— 
 (To the sole glory of God), shows that from its erection it was 
 dedicated to the service of the sanctuary. Of the source 
 from whence it came, we have no authentic record; tradition 
 says, it once sowed an useful purpose at Kirkstall Abbey, from 
 whence it was transferred to Morley ; but wheiever it came 
 from, it is evidently of no mean origin, for it contains a large 
 proportion of silver. 
 
 It was left for the Goths and Vandals of the nineteenth 
 oentury to alter and disfigure this,—the oldest Nonconformist 
 place of worship in the kingdom; this, they did most 
 effectually during the summer of 1865. With zeal and 
 alacrity, far from commendable in this matter, they set about 
 the destruction of the chancel—the portion which was in 
 existence six hundred years ago, and whose history had in it 
 as many vicissitudes as that of the English nation. In a 
 short time, the old walls were razed to the ground, the old 
 woodwork was scattered, in the shape of manufactured relics, 
 throughout the village, the inscriptions were obliterated ; the 
 old clock and dial found a resting place amongst the lumber 
 in a timber-yard, where they still remain, and the whole place 
 soon became one scene of disorder and desecration. As to 
 the reasons for this wholesale destruction, we prefer to give 
 the account furnished by the parties implicated, rather than 
 
136 
 
 trust ourselves to speak on the subject. The following 
 extract with reference to the alterations is from the West- 
 Riding Congregational Register, August, 1865 ; “ In con¬ 
 
 sequence of the success which has attended the mini stry of 
 the Rev. F. Barnes, B.A. at the Old Chapel, Morley, the 
 accomodation was found to he too small to meet the require¬ 
 ments of the increasing congregation. It was therefore 
 determined, after considerable deliberation by the people, to 
 enlarge the place, to the extent that could be effected without 
 destroying the peculiar features of the old structure On 
 examination, however, the woodwork within the building— 
 including many of the pillars which supported the roof were 
 found to be in such an unsatisfactory and unsafe condition, 
 that it was deemed necessary entirely to remove and recon¬ 
 struct them. This has been done,—the chancel has been 
 rebuilt, the body of the nave has been enlarged and renewed, 
 and the entire arrangements of the interior modernized and 
 chastely ornamented at a cost of £800. This sum covered 
 also the expence of rebuilding the belfry,—constructing a 
 new porch,—putting in new diamond paned windows,—re¬ 
 pairing the organ,—repointing and trimming the outside walls, 
 —together with the cost of a hot water warming apparatus, 
 and four handsome coronas for lighting the chapel.” We may 
 just remark that with respect to the increase of accommodation 
 spoken of,—that some forty sittings or less, is the advantage 
 gained by the alteration. As to the unsafe condition of the 
 chancel, there was much difference of opinion; and as to the 
 necessity of making the alteration on the ground of public 
 safety, we are inclined to agree with the remark of one, who 
 said, that “with respect to the demolition of the chancel, the 
 wish was father to the deed. ’ ’ 
 
 Leaving the history of the structure, we proceed to sketch., 
 briefly as possible—the various religious and legal changes 
 connected with this old chapel. Previous to the early part of 
 the sixteenth century Roman Catholicism was the established 
 
137 
 
 religion of this country, and remained so till 1534, when the 
 Papal power was abrogated. In the reign of Elizabeth, the 
 Puritans made an attempt to introduce a purer form of wor¬ 
 ship than that countenanced by the Anglican Bishops, and some 
 of them began to contend also for a form of church govern¬ 
 ment to he framed on the Apostolic model. When the services 
 of the Romish church at the Old Chapel were exchanged for the 
 Puritan form of worship, we cannot determine, but the first 
 minister of whom there is any record, was the Rev. Samuel 
 Wales, of whom Scatcherd says“ It may be fairly assumed 
 that such as was Mr. Wales in point of sentiment, such also 
 were his immediate predecessors here. They were what the 
 Papists and Semi-papists of Elizabeth, James and Charles, 
 affected to sneer at, under the appellation of ‘ Puritan,’—a 
 name, however, to which they were well entitled from the 
 piety and morality of their lives, the more scriptural tenour of 
 their doctrines, and the conscientious motives from which these 
 tenets were inculcated.” After the times of Mr. Wales, a 
 Presbyterian ministry occupied the pulpit, and during this 
 period the congregation increased rapidly, and the influence 
 of its pastors and chief members obtained such countenance 
 that, Thomas Viscount Savile, Earl of Sussex, then living at 
 Howley Hall, was pleased to grant a lease of the chapel and 
 premises, to certain trustees of the Presbyterian denomination. 
 The following is an exact copy of that document:— 
 
 1650. STljis $itbcnhm made The Tventie ffiftli day of Septem¬ 
 ber in the Yeare of our Lord One Thousand six lnmdreth and 
 fliftee, Between the Right honble. Thomas Lord Viscount Savile, 
 Earle of Sussex, of th’one p’tie, and Edward Birthie, of Scolaeroft 
 Thomas Otes, John Rayner, Wm. Ward, John Crowther, Thomas 
 Greatheed, of Morley, John Smith, William Bancke, Jos. Great- 
 heed, of Gildersome, Robte Pauldan and William Burnell, of 
 Churwell, in the County of Yorke, y’eom of the other p’tie. 
 Wittnesseth that the said Earle, for the yearly rent hereafter in 
 these p’sents reserved And for divers other good causes and con- 
 sideracous him thereunto movinge, Hath demised, granted leased 
 
1B8 
 
 and to farm lett, and by these p’sents demise grant, leasses and to 
 farm, lett, unto the said Edward Birtbie, Thomas Otes, John Rayner, 
 William Ward, John Crowther, Thomas Greathead, John Smith, 
 William Bancke, Joshua Greathead, Robte Paulden, and William 
 Burnell, All that Dwellinghouse or T’ent, one Orchard, and one 
 Crofte thereto adjoyninge wth thapp’tunance lyinge situate and being 
 in Morley aforesaid, and now in the tenure or occupation of Robert 
 Cruwther or his assignes. And also all that Close of Land commonly 
 and known by the name of Longcroft Conteyninge by estymacon, (be 
 it more or less) wth thapp’tunance lyinge and beinge in Morley 
 aforesaid and now also in the tenure or occup’acon of the said Robert 
 Crowther or his assignes, and one p'cell of Land called the Chappell 
 Yeard wherein the Chappell of Morley Now Standeth. And also all 
 ways, passages, water, watercourses, 1’ibties, p’fitts commodityes, and 
 •easements, whatsoever, to the said Dwellinghouse or T’ent, orchard, 
 Crofte, or Close of Land and Pmisses, belonginge, or therewith Now 
 or Commonly Demised, used or occupyed; And all and singlar tithes 
 of come, grayne, grasse, and hay whatsoever, yearly, happenings, 
 cominge, growinge, and increaseinge of, in, and upon the said close of 
 land, and pmisses, and of with in and upon every or any p’te or p’cell 
 thereof. To have and to hould the said Dwellinghouse, or Te’nt 
 orchard, crofte or close of land, called Long-oroft, tithes and p’misses 
 before menconed, to be demised or graunte wth their appurtenance 
 unto the said Edward Birtbie, Thomas Otes, John Rayner, William 
 Ward, John Crowther, Thomas Greathead, John Smith, William 
 Bancke, Joshua Greathead, Robte Paulden, and William Burnell, their 
 executors a’dm or assignes, ymediately from and after the second 
 day of February next ensuinge the date hereof, for, duringe, and until 
 -the full end and tearme of Five Hundred Years, from thence next 
 followinge, and fully, to be complete and Demised unto and for the 
 only use and benefit of a preaching Minister at the Chappell of 
 Morley aforesaid, yeildinge and payinge therefore yearly and every 
 yeare during the said tearme unto the said Earle, his heirs or 
 assignes the yearly rent of Twentie shillings of lawfull money of 
 England, at, or in Howley Hall in the said County of Yorke, att the 
 Feast of St. John Baptist and St. Andrew the Apostle, by equal 
 Portions ; and if itt shall fortune the said yearly rent of Twentie 
 shillings or any part thereof to be behind and unpaid at the piece 
 aforesaid after either of the said Feast days wherein the same is 
 appointed payable as aforesaid (though the same be not demanded), 
 that then it shall be lawful, to, and for the said Earle, his heirs and 
 assigns, into to the Demised Premises or any part thereof to enter 
 
139 
 
 and distreigne, and the distress and distresses then and there found 
 lawfully to take lead, drive away, and convey away the same to 
 ympound, deteyne and kepe untill such tyme as the said yearly rent 
 of Twentie Shillings with all the arrearage thereof and every [part 
 thereof be fully satisfyed and paid; PROVIDED always and upon 
 condi’con that if it shall happen the said yearly rent of Twentie 
 shillings or any part thereof to be behind and unpaid at the place 
 aforesaid by the space of Twentie Days, next after either of the said 
 Feast Days, wherein the same is appointed payable as aforesaid 
 (although the same be not demanded) That then and from thenceforth 
 this p’sent Indenture, Demise, and leasse, artickle matter, and thing 
 herein Conteyned shall after then determyne and be utterly void 
 frustrate and of none effect, and thinge whatsoover herein contained 
 notwithstandinge. And the said Edward Birtbie, Thomas Otes, 
 John Rayner, William Ward, John Crowther, Thomas Grcathead, 
 John Smith, William Bancke, Joshua Greathead, Robte Panlden, and 
 William Burnell, doe for their executors a’dm assignes, and to, and 
 with every of them by these presents in manner and form followinge 
 (that is to say) That the said Edward Birtbie, Thomas Otes, John 
 Rayner, William Ward, John Crowther, Thomas Greathead, John 
 Smith, William Bancke, Joshua Greathead, Robte Paulden, and 
 William Burnell, their executors a’dm or assigns or some of them 
 shall, and will from tyme to tyme, during the said tearme well and 
 truly satisfy and cause to be paid or pay unto the said Earle, his heirs 
 and assigns the aforesaid Yearly rent of Twentie shillings above 
 hereby reserved and every Part thereof at the Place aforesaid, and 
 upon the several and respective days, wherein the same is appointed 
 payable as aforesaid as accordinge to the tuee intent, and meaninge 
 of these p’sents: And also that they the said Edward Birtbie,. 
 Thomas Otes, John Rayner, William Ward, John Crowther, Thomas 
 Greathead, John Smith, William Bancke, Joshua Greathead, Robte 
 Paulden, and William Burnell, their executors a’dm or assignes. 
 Tenants of the premises or any p’te thereof and ev’ry of them, shall 
 and will doe, observe, and p'forme all manner of Suits, Customes and 
 Servise at the Court Barron of the said Earle, his heirs and assignes, 
 to be from tyme to tyme, duringe, the said tearme; holden for the 
 Ma’nnr. of Morley aforesaid in the said County of Yorke, used and 
 accustomed to be done by others the Tenants freeholders and Seutors 
 of and wth in the said Mannor’s. And also all the corne, grayne,. 
 wch they or any of them shall expend in the said Dwellinghouse or 
 T’ent upon the P’misses shall he brought or cause to be brought, to 
 be ground at the Milne of the said Earle his heirs and assignees 
 
140 
 
 called Howley Milne in the said Connty of Yorke. Paying for the 
 grindinge thereof, the toll and Multure usually payed and given by 
 others the Te’nnts and Suitors of the said Milne and not more. And 
 also that the said Edward Birtbie, Thomas Otes, John Rayner, 
 William Ward, John Crowther, Thomas Greathead, John Smith, 
 William Baneke, Joshua Greathead, Robte Paulden and William 
 Burnell, their executors a’dm and assignes, shall from tyme to tyme 
 duringe the said tearme, when and so often as needs shall require, at 
 their own p’er cost and charge, well and sufficiently repaire, amend, 
 clause, scoure manteyne, and kepe the order. Dwellinghouse or 
 T’ent, hedges, ditches, quicksettes fence, and watercources, in and 
 upon, about or belonginge to the said Demised P’misses and every, or 
 any p’te thereof with all mannor of Necessary repacons. And at the 
 end or other determina’cons of the said tearme, shall leave and yield 
 up the same p'mises and every p’te thereof so sufficiently amended 
 and repayred unto the said Earle, his heirs and assignes, wth out 
 demandinge any thinge therefore. And further that the said Edward 
 Birtbie, Thomas Otes, John Rayner, William Ward, John Crowther, 
 Thomas Greathead, John Smith,<William Baneke, Joshua Greathead, 
 Robte Paulden and William Burnell, their executors a’dm assignes. 
 shall and will from tyme to tyme, and all the tymes duringe the said 
 tearme well and truly satisfy, discharge leave or cause to be payd and 
 borne all and all mannor of taxes, taxed assessments or posi’eons and 
 charges of all assessed, sett or ymposed upon the p’misses, or any 
 p’te thereof whereby the said Earle, his heirs or assignes, or any of 
 them shall or may in any wise be charged in respect of the p’misses, 
 or any p’te thereof and lastly the said Earle doth for him his heirs and 
 assignes cov’nant and grant to and with the said Ed. Birtbie, Thomas 
 Otes, John Rayner, William Ward, John Crowther, Thomas Great- 
 head, John Smith, William Baneke, Joshua Greathead, Robte Paul¬ 
 den and William Burnell executors a’dm or assignes by these p’sents, 
 That ths said Edward Birtbie, Thomas Otes, John Rayner, William 
 Ward, John Crowther, Thomas Greathead, Ro’bte Paulden and 
 William Burnell, them executors, a’dm or assignes, (for and under 
 the p’ment of the said yearly rent of Twentie Shillings, lays, services, 
 above hereby reserved and p’formance of the p’vision and cov’nnte of 
 their p’te place in these parts conveyed.) Shall peaceably and quietly 
 have, hold and enjoy the said Dwelling-house or Te’et, Orchard, 
 Crofte, Close of Land, called Longcroft Chapell Yoard and p’misses 
 with the appurtenance, and duringe the tearme aforesaid, (to the use 
 aforesaid) without the lawfull lett suite trouble molestation or 
 encumbrance of him the said Earle his heirs or assignes, or any of 
 
141 
 
 them. IN WITNESS whereof the p’ties above named to the p'ts of 
 these Indenture Interehangably have sett their hands and seals this 
 Day and Year first above expressed, 
 
 [L.S.] SUSSEX. 
 
 Sealed, Signed, and delivered 
 in the p’sence of us 
 
 Robert X Clark, his mark. Thomas Gaunt. 
 
 Two of these trustees were famous in their generation:— 
 Thomas Oates who was one of the chiefs of the Famley Wood 
 Plot in 1663, and Joshua Greatheed who fought bravely 
 against the Royalists at the battle of Adwalton Moor. At the 
 commencement of the Civil War the latter was a gentleman 
 possessed of but a small estate, though enjoying a high 
 character for patriotism and honour. About six months after 
 the engagement mentioned, he was in January 1644, when 
 between 28 and 29 years of age, promoted to the Majority of a 
 regiment of foot commanded by Colonel Richard Thornton. 
 Subsequently, and in particular after the death of his Colonel, 
 who is supposed to have fallen at Marston Moor, or before 
 Pontefract Castle, he was still further advanced in the service. 
 His fame increased with his years, until we find him ultimately 
 chosen by the Republicans to be General in the West Riding. 
 
 The second Trust-deed bears date May 7th, 1687, and by it 
 the surviving trustee Robert Paulden, of Newel in Bowlin, 
 assigns the Old Chapel premises to John Snowden, of Schole- 
 croft; Thomas Dawson, Thomas Craister, James Ianson, John 
 Copendale, Thomas Scatcherd, Sami. Ward, William Roebuck 
 and John Crowther, of Morley; Jere Boulton, John Dickenson 
 and John Birkhead, of Gildersome ; and Joshua Janson, and 
 Danl. Pickering, of Churwell. As the date and some of the 
 names here given differ from Scatcherd’s account as given at 
 page 129 of the History of Morley, we may say in explanation 
 that the above particulars have been copied from the register 
 belonging to the Old Chapel. 
 
 The' next Trust-deed bears date June 22nd, 1721, and by 
 
 s 
 
142 
 
 it the property was assigned by Birkkead and Janson, to Samuel 
 Scatchard, John Dawson, William Lister, John Crooker, 
 Benjamin Dixon, Joseph Dixon, Nathaniel Slack, Thomas 
 Hemsworth, Jonathan Fothergill, John Ellis, the younger, 
 John Webster, the younger, Samuel Greatkead, William 
 Clarke, Joshua Rayner, Isaac Crowther, Samuel Webster, and 
 Jeremy Swift, of Morley; William Leathley, of Churwell; 
 and Samuel Birkhead and John Milner, of Gildersome. 
 
 By an assignment dated August 25th, 1768;—Samuel 
 Scatckerd, the elder, Samuel Webster the elder, and Jeremy 
 Swift, conveyed the property to John Dawson, Samuel 
 Scatcherd the younger, Robert Dixon, Joseph Ellis, William 
 Reyner, Nathaniel Webster, Joseph Webster, John Hems¬ 
 worth, Thomas Reyner, Samuel Webster the younger, and 
 Joseph Webster the elder, all of Morley; George Aired, John 
 Reyner, and Samuel Leathley, all of Churwell; Joseph 
 Asquith and Henry Scatcherd, of Gildersome; Wm. Leathley, 
 of New-hall; and Samuel Dawson, of Topcliffe. 
 
 The last Deed of appointment of new trustees in the last 
 century, bears date the 3rd September, 1798, by which Joseph 
 Webster and Samuel Webster assign to Watson Scatcherd, 
 John Gisburn, John Wetherill, John Webster, the younger, 
 John Garnett, and Thomas Crowther, of Morley; Samuel 
 Wetherill, of Millshaw; John Reyner, of Leeds; John Boyle, 
 of Haigh-moor ; Miles Shirtcliffe, of Churwell; Abm. Dawson, 
 of Topcliffe, and Joseph Asquith, Robert Ellis, John Hollings, 
 Sami. Gaunt, John Wormald, William Asquith, John Jackson 
 and Daniel Slack of Morley. 
 
 By Indenture dated July 24th, 1822, John Wetherill, John 
 Webster, John Garnett and Samuel Wetherill assigned the 
 trust premises to Norrisson Scatcherd, Nathaniel Webster, 
 Samuel Webster, John Webster, John Hollings, John Rayner, 
 Samuel Rayner, Thomas Middlebrook, John Garnett, of 
 Morley; and John Ellis, of London. 
 
 The last Trust-deed bears date April 14th, 1856, by which 
 
143 
 
 John Hollings, Thomas Middlebrook, and Samuel Rayner 
 assign to Joseph Webster, Samuel Webster, John Webster, 
 William Middlebrook, James Theaker, Robert Barron, John 
 Garnett, Emmanuel Bradley, James Asquith, Joseph Myers, 
 Thomas Oakes, of Morley; and Richard Webster, of 
 Newark. 
 
 After the first lease was granted by the Earl of Susses, the 
 chapel was in all probability, used for some years by the Pres¬ 
 byterians, but it appears that when the Act of Uniformity 
 became law in 1662, Mr. Etherington, the minister of the 
 Old Chapel at that time conformed, and by this means, the 
 Established Church obtained possession of the chapel,—but 
 the Presbyterian trustees still kept possession of the lease of 
 the property. Two circumstances go to shew the truth of our 
 statement in reference to possession of the chapel, first,—the 
 fact of the Royal Arms having been set up in tbe Nave, in 
 1664, only two years after; and second,—the service book, 
 used about that time, and still preserved, contains the liturgy 
 of the Church of England. In this service book are prayers 
 “for James; for Mary Catherine, the Queen Dowager; Mary, 
 Princess of Orange; and the Princess Ann of Denmark;” and 
 at the beginning in an old-fashioned hand are written the 
 words—“ Morley Town’s Book Common Prayer.” This book 
 was not used after 1688, for in the prayers no substitution of 
 the name of King William for that of James occurs, and 
 Scatcherd says,—“we know, that not long after the Dynasty 
 of the Stuarts terminated, the chapel was restored to its 
 rightful proprietors.” This restoration to the Nonconformists 
 took place, in our historian’s opinion, somewhere between 
 1693 and 1698, and in support of this, he proves that in 
 1688, the Dissenters built the Parsonage house, and in the 
 following year, obtained a license to perform religious worship 
 therein. This they would not have done, had they regained, 
 at that time, possession of the chapel. 
 
 In conformity to our plan, we purpose to present our 
 
144 
 
 readers with biographical sketches of the several known 
 ministers who have officiated at the Old Chapel. Our 
 sketches will necessarily he very brief, having reference 
 more particularly to the connexion of the ministers with this 
 place. We must refer the reader, for more extended notices 
 of the Presbyterian Ministers, to Calamy’s Memorial and 
 Scatcherd’s History of Morley. The names of the ministers, 
 with the time of their settlement and removal (in cases 
 where these could be ascertained) may be gathered from the 
 following 
 
 Catalogue op the Ministeks of the Old Chapel, Moblex. 
 
 Date. 
 
 Ministers’ Names. 
 
 Cause 
 
 of Vacation. 
 
 1627 
 
 Samuel Wales 
 
 Resigned. 
 
 1562 
 
 — Etherington 
 
 do 
 
 1665—1671 
 
 Christopher Nesse, M.A. 
 
 do 
 
 1673—1674 
 
 John Noble, M.A. 
 
 do 
 
 1674—1675 
 
 Samuel Bailey 
 
 Death. 
 
 1675—1677 
 
 Thomas Sharp, M.A. 
 
 Resigned. 
 
 1677—1680 
 
 Robert Pickering, M.A. 
 
 Death. 
 
 1688—1709 
 
 Joseph Dawson 
 
 do 
 
 1709—1763 
 
 Timothy Aired 
 
 Resigned. 
 
 1763—1794 
 
 Thomas Morgan 
 
 do 
 
 1795—1806 
 
 Samuel Lucas 
 
 do 
 
 1806—1807 
 
 — Spencer 
 
 do 
 
 1807—1815 
 
 — Duncan 
 
 do 
 
 1817—1837 
 
 Abraham Hudswell 
 
 Death. 
 
 1837—1841 
 
 Joseph Fox 
 
 Resigned. 
 
 1842—1854 
 
 John Morris 
 
 do 
 
 1854—1860 
 
 James Wonnacott 
 
 do 
 
 1862—1865 
 
 Fred. Bames, B.A. 
 
 do 
 
 Samuel Wales.— This learned divine was the first 
 minister of whom we have any account. With his personal 
 history, previous to or during his settlement at the Old 
 Chapel, we are entirely unacquainted. He was the author of 
 a book, entitled—“ Totum Hominis, or the whole duty of a 
 Christian, consisting of faith and a good life, by the late 
 reverend and worthy Mr. Samuel Wales, Minister of the 
 
145 
 
 Gospel at Morley, 1627.” The work was dedicated to Philip, 
 Lord Wharton, and became famous. Mr. Wales possessed 
 very considerable talents for the ministry; his discourses both 
 in matter and style were admirably suited to the edification of 
 his hearers. Scatcherd says, of him,—“It is manifest that 
 Mr. Wales was one of those persons who were called “ Puri¬ 
 tans,”—that he was a good scholar,—a zealous minister,— 
 and a vehement declaimer against Popery and Antinomianism.” 
 Why or when he left the Old Chapel we cannot ascertain, but 
 no mention is made of any other minister till 1662. Respect¬ 
 ing any others (if any) who filled the sacred office after 
 Mr. Wales, until this period, we are without any trustworthy 
 information. 
 
 — Etherington.— The only information regarding this per¬ 
 son, is thus briefly summed up :—One Mr. Etherington, who had 
 conformed, left Morley (1662), and succeeded one Mr. Bovil 
 at Bramley, This description, brief as it is, does not give us 
 any exalted idea of the character of the man. 
 
 Christopher Nesse, M.A.—This eminent and useful min¬ 
 ister was bom at North Cave, Dec. 26th, 1621. He was 
 educated at Cambridge, after which, he retired into the country 
 during the Civil War, and preached for a while at Cliffe 
 Chapel. He was at this time under the care of his uncle, 
 then vicar of North Cave. He subsequently accepted a call to 
 Holderness, and from thence removed to Beverley, where he 
 kept a school and preached occasionally. His next station 
 appears to been Cottingham, the living of which was presented 
 to him by Dr. Winter. In the course of a few years he was 
 called to Leeds, where he laboured with great success. In 
 1665, he came to Morley and remained for a length of time. 
 Respecting this minister, we have extracted the following from 
 a copy of the Topcliffe register:— 
 
 “ Christopher, son of Christopher Nesso, Baptized July 9,1661. 
 
 Elizabeth, daughter of Bro, Nesse, born Sep. 27, 1671, baptized 
 
 17th October. 
 
133 
 
 Hannah Rhodes, the grand-child of Bro. Nesse, who owned it 
 as his owne seed and claimed the previlege of Baptism and under¬ 
 took to bring it uppe as his owne, as to religious care and 
 education, was therefore baptized 26th Dec., and born 13 Nov., 
 1671.” 
 
 After leaving Morley, Mr. Nesse removed to Hunslet where 
 he taught a number of hoys, and preached privately till 1672, 
 when the Main Riding House being converted into a Meeting¬ 
 house, he preached publicly there to a numerous auditory. 
 He was four times excommunicated, and when upon the last 
 occasion a writ for his apprehension was issued in 1675, he 
 removed to London. He died in the “modern Babylon,” 
 December 26th, 1705, in the 84th year of his age, and was 
 buried in Bunhill Fields. 
 
 At the time Mr. Nesse came to Morley in 1665, the perse¬ 
 cution of the Nonconformists was at its height, and, as he 
 left about the time the first indulgences were granted in 1672, 
 it is probable that his preaching here was in private, and not 
 in public at the chapel, except, perhaps, on some few occasions. 
 The chapel was at this time in the hands of the Anglican 
 Church, so that any preaching there by a Dissenter must have 
 been by permission of the Yicar of Batley, which was some¬ 
 times granted. 
 
 John Noble, M.A.—The vacancy occasioned by the re¬ 
 moval of Mr. Nesse was filled up by the Rev. John Noble, 
 M.A., of Christ College, Cambridge. This must have been 
 about 1672 or 3, for our historian mentions that “ he or a 
 gentleman of the same name was instructing youths at Morley, 
 at this period as appears from the MSS. of Mr. Joseph 
 Lister, of Bradford, who speaking of his son David, says:— 
 ‘I went to Morley where Mr. Noble taught school and put my 
 son under him—a diligent, faithful man, where my son pro- 
 fitted much, and was fit for the University learning ; but not 
 having a conveniency of disposing of him at that time, he stayed 
 and learned logick of him another year.’ ” 
 
 Samuel Bailey. —Under the ministry of this gentleman 
 
147 
 
 the churches at Morley and Topcliffe were united. It appears 
 from an old Register which once belonged to the society of 
 Independents at Topcliffe, that one Christopher Marshall was 
 minister there from 1656 to 1673, and that on the 25th 
 of March 1674, Mr. Bailey was elected pastor and one 
 Gamaliel Marsden, teacher; both having been admitted into 
 communion with that church, November 19th, in the preceding 
 year :—that after a lapse of only eighteen months, Mr. Bailey 
 died, and was succeeded by Mr. Marsden, who died, minister 
 of Topcliffe only, in May 1681. A curiously carved tomb¬ 
 stone placed over the remains of Mr. Bailey, in the graveyard, 
 connected with the Old Chapel, has upon it, the following 
 inscription :— 
 
 “ Here lyeth the body of Samubl Baily, Minister of the Gospel 
 at Morley and Topcliffe, who departed this life December the 6th, 
 1675.” 
 
 Proverbs 11th , 30 v.—The fruit of the Righteous is a tree of life 
 and he that winneth souls is wise. Daniell 12th, v. 3d.—And they 
 that be wise shall shine as ye brightnesse of ye firmament and they 
 that turn many to righteousness as the Starres for ever <£ ever. 
 
 Thomas Sharp, M.A.—This divine, the next in order of 
 time, was bom at Little Horton, near Bradford. His parents 
 were pious persons, who from his infancy devoted him to tho 
 ministry, though he was their first-born, and likely to enjoy 
 a considerable estate. He was cousin to Archbishop Sharpe, 
 and a pupil of Tillotson. In 1649, he was sent to Cambridge 
 and after going through the usual course of academical 
 studies, took his degree of M.A. When he left the University, 
 he was committed by his uncle, David Clarkson, into the care 
 of Mr. John Tillotson, afterwards Archbishop of Canterbury. 
 Having finished his studies under this distinguished person, 
 he settled at Peterborough, where he stayed for a little while, 
 and then came into Yorkshire, accepting the li ving of Add- 
 hill. This he retained only a short time, owing to a disagree¬ 
 ment with Dr. Hich, Parson of Guiseley, who claimed the 
 
148 
 
 living of Add-hill as liis right. Resigning the office, he 
 retired into private life, and followed his studies closely in his 
 father’s house, attending upon public ordinances in the parish 
 church at Bradford, where that worthy person, Mr. Abraham 
 Brooksbank was vicar, till he removed to Reading. But 
 when the licenses were granted by King Charles the Second in 
 1672, he took the opportunity to exercise his ministry in his 
 own house, which was crowded with great numbers who 
 flocked to hear him. Subsequently in 1675, Mr. Sharp had a 
 call to preach at Morley, where he Was very industrious and 
 highly esteemed. It is recorded of him, that—“He was a 
 fluent preacher, a master of words, not so much abounding 
 in rhetorical flourishes as in fitting and profitable sentences. 
 His sermons were elaborate and accurate. His method was 
 peculiar to himself, but always suitable to the matter and pro¬ 
 per to the end designed,—not to please the fancy, but to inform 
 the judgment, convince the conscience, work upon the will and 
 affections and change the heart and life He was very sound 
 and orthodox in doctrine, and trod much in the old path, 
 though he was well acquainted with the controversies of the 
 times, and very able to oppose error, and defend the truth.” 
 
 Robert Pickering, M.A.—Mr. Sharp was succeeded in his 
 office at the Old Chapel, by the Rev. Robt. Pickering, M.A., 
 of Cambridge. He was one of the ejected ministers, who had 
 been obliged to quit his former living, because he could not 
 satisfy himself to conform. It is said, “ he bore himself during 
 the times of persecution with dignified resignation and a meek 
 fortitude. He was a modest, humble and pious man, coura¬ 
 geous in fighting the good fight. ” His tombstone records his 
 death in the following terms ;— 
 
 “ Here lyetli interred the body of Robert Pickeringe, Preacher 
 of the Gospell att Morley, who accounted himselfe the meanest 
 servant in the work of Christ, who departed this life October 
 the 11th, 1680. 
 
 Master of Art, Sidney Colledge, Cambridge. ” 
 
149 
 
 After Mr. Pickering’s decease, tlie ejected ministers, among 
 whom may be mentioned Mr. Sharp, Mr. Oliver Heywood, 
 Mr. Joseph Dawson and probably Mr. Hawden, who was 
 interred at the west end of the chapel, seem for a time to have 
 preached in the private houses of our forefathers. There was 
 unquestionably a meeting-house at Morley used by the ejected 
 ministers at this period, as distinguished from the houses of 
 private individuals where prayer meetings took place; for it 
 appears by the diary of the Eev. Oliver Heywood, that on the 
 5th of November, 1679, there was “ a double lecture at the 
 meeting-house, Morley,” and mention is made also of a large 
 assembly at Mr. John Butterworth’s, Morley, where “I” says 
 Oliver Heywood, “spent four hours in prayer and preached 
 with great pleasure and enlargement of heart.” 
 
 Joseph Dawson. —Of this good man, Calamy in his Mem¬ 
 orial thus writes;—Mr. Joseph Dawson, was ejected from 
 Thornton Chapel; he lived, after his ejectment, near Halifax, 
 and preached near Birstal. He was a very pious and learned 
 man—of great esteem for his integrity, prudence, humility 
 meekness. Of a very venerable aspect—a hard student, and 
 an affectionate preacher, who naturally cared for the good of 
 souls, unwearied in labours—very successful in his ministry, 
 and who had a good report of all men. Even in his advanced 
 age, he travelled to a considerable distance, at all seasons of 
 the year to preach to a poor people, and took as much care to 
 serve them as though they could have given him a large salary. 
 He was a considerable sufferer, by reason of his strait circum¬ 
 stances, and his having a numerous family, yet he never 
 repented of his Nonconformity. In a work ‘ ‘ Life and Errors 
 of John Dunton, citizen of London,” that person speaks in 
 terms of the highest praise of Mr. Dawson, charaterizing him 
 as “ a burning and shining light, a very pattern of holiness, 
 meekness, humility and zeal for God’s glory—one whose con¬ 
 versation is in Heaven.” Providence spared the life of this 
 good man to a long term, for he died June 26th, 1709, aged 
 
 T 
 
150 
 
 73 years, and the following extract from Thoresby’s Diary, 
 refers to his funeral;—“Walked to Morley (took account of 
 the monumental inscriptions) to the funeral of good old Mr. 
 Dawson,— one of the latest survivors of the ministers who left 
 the church in 1662.” 
 
 Timothy Alred.—O f this learned man, Scatcherd gives us 
 the following particulars;—“Some of the MSS. of this gen¬ 
 tleman, in my possession, shew him to have been an able 
 Latin scholar, and scripture critic. It was during the ministry 
 of Mr. Aired that the chapel was underdrawn, the chancel, 
 vestry, or village school (whatever it was) having doubtless 
 been laid open to it, about 1693. This underdrawing seems 
 to have been a great effort in the estimation of our thrifty, 
 economical forefathers. The minister preached a sermon on 
 the occasion from the text,—‘ He is worthy for whom we have 
 done this—he hath loved our nation and built us a synagogue.’ 
 After a long and able ministry of fifty-four years (and, it is 
 said, he was never absent from the pulpit but one afternoon 
 during the whole of that time), he retired from the labours of 
 his pastorate.” He departed this life, August the 21st, 1773, 
 and was buried in the Old Chapel graveyard, where a stone 
 was erected over his grave, bearing the following inscription:— 
 
 “ Here lyeth interred tlie Rev. Mr. Timothy Aldked, pastor 
 of the Congregation of Protestant Dissenters at Morley, 54 years, 
 who departed this life, August 21, 1773, ZEtatis 88th. 
 
 Thomas Morgan. —When Mr. Aired resigned his charge, 
 the choice of the people fell upon the Rev. Thomas Morgan, a 
 native of Carmarthen, in Wales. As a preacher, from accounts 
 that have been handed down to us, we are asked to believe 
 him to have been the beau-ideal of a Christian minister. 
 One of his hearers at the Old Chapel, thus describes bim ;— 
 “ The Rev. Thomas Morgan, was a perfect gentleman of the 
 old school, without any of its frivolity ; a well informed, 
 serious and modest man. The aspect of Mr. Morgan was 
 
151 
 
 uncommonly fine,—his demeanour the most reverend and 
 dignified I ever beheld.—That venerable form and countenance, 
 indeed, I can never forget—it looked upwards, as though it 
 ever contemplated a something beyond this life. Such, in a 
 word it was, that if I had met with it upon the plains of 
 Hindostan, I must have paid it homage.” Amongst his other 
 good qualities we may mention that his preaching was extem¬ 
 pore, his matter sensible and connected, not like many 
 preachers, “labouring to prove self evident propositions, as, 
 that ‘Sin is an Evil’ and other palpable truisms.” On the 
 doctrines of the Trinity and Atonement, he was very “ortho¬ 
 dox,” but with the firm grasp he held his own views, he was 
 tolerant to those who differed from him. During the ministry 
 of Mr. Morgan at the Old Chapel, he was engaged in a con¬ 
 troversy with the celebrated Dr. Priestley, then the minister 
 of Mill Hill Chapel, at Leeds. This gentleman had taken 
 offence at some opinions expressed in a pamphlet written by 
 Mr. Morgan, entitled—“An appeal to the Common Sense of 
 Plain and Common Christians.” The Dr. replied to the 
 strictures contained in this ‘appeal’ in a strain of severity. 
 “Mr. Morgan died, July 2nd, 1799, aged 80 years; after 
 having faithfully discharged the office of pastor here, from 
 Oct. 23rd, 1763 to Sept. 28th, 1794, when it pleased God to 
 suffer his powers of speech and active usefulness to be 
 destroyed by a paralytic stroke.” 
 
 Samuel Lucas. —This minister was educated under Mr. 
 Horsey, the successor of Dr. Doddridge, at Daventry, in 
 Northamptonshire, and settled at the Old Chapel as a Trini¬ 
 tarian Minister. He afterwards became an Arian, and the 
 effect of this was, that a number of his hearers became avowed 
 Arians or Socinians. He remained at Morley 12 years, 
 leaving in 1806, on being invited by the ancestors of the 
 present Lord Houghton to accept the office of chaplain in 
 their family. He died in January, 1822, and was buried in 
 Mill Hill Chapel Yard, Leeds. 
 
152 
 
 “With this excellent man ” writes Scatcherd, “ terminated 
 the Presbyterian interest at the Old Chapel.” It now remains 
 for us to furnish an account of the ministers of the Independent 
 denomination, who have since the time of Mr. Lncas occu¬ 
 pied the pulpit belonging to this venerable edifice. 
 
 — Spencer.— Soon after Mr. Lucas resigned, the Rev. 
 Mr. Spencer, of Sheffield, was invited to the pastorate, hut he 
 only remained for six months, when he resigned. Shortly 
 after the church and congregation invited a Mr. Patoun, a 
 minister, resident in Scotland, to supply the pulpit for a 
 month, with a view to the pastorate. He came to Morley and 
 created a great sensation by the exposition of his views which 
 were Hyper-Calvanistic. Finding that some of the more 
 respectable portion of the congregation, including the Wether- 
 ill’s of Millshaw, and others, did not look with favour upon his 
 services, he returned to Scotland, and sent by request of some 
 of the people, one Mr. Duncan. 
 
 — Duncan.— This gentleman was a minister in Scotland, 
 when he accepted the invitation to the Old Chapel. Of his 
 career in Morley we have the following account:—“ From the 
 very commencement of his ministry, a spirit of enmity was 
 exhibited against him by some members of the congregation, 
 who would have preferred a minister holding Unitarian views.” 
 The trustees, being determined to get quit of this gentleman, 
 called a trustees’ meeting in the chapel, on a certain day, 
 hoping by that means to obtain the keys and get possession of 
 the building ; but Mr. Duncan and the sexton went into the 
 chapel a little before the time appointed and locked themselves 
 in. The trustees went and when they found the door locked, 
 they burst it open with a crow-bar, when a scuffle ensued, 
 Mr. Duncan refused to give up the keys, and a large crowd, 
 which now appeared upon the scene, loudly cheered him in 
 his resolution to keep possession. The trustees were hooted 
 from the chapel, and out of the chapel-yard. After this event, 
 Mr. Duncan appears to have suffered annoyance of various 
 
153 
 
 kinds, at the hands of the disaffected parties. Becoming 
 tired of ministerial work under these circumstances, and a 
 small sum being offered him to retire, he did so in the beginning 
 of 1815. He settled as a surgeon, at Adwalton, where he 
 practised many years, but it is said he never attempted to 
 preach after he left Morley. 
 
 Abraham Hudswell.— This pious and excellent man, was 
 settled at Bingley, when he received an invitation to supply 
 on trial, the vacant pulpit at the Old Chapel. He accepted 
 the invitation, and preached for two sabbaths. His ministra¬ 
 tions were favourably received, but it was not till he had 
 preached again and again, that he ultimately consented to 
 accept the call which had been given him. He commenced 
 his ministry the first Sunday in January, 1817, having a 
 congregation, composed of various elements, “the poor mem¬ 
 bers being the most evangelical, the richer holding very 
 doubtful sentiments.” Of his abilities as a preacher, we have 
 the following description. “His preaching was eminently 
 scriptural. He never introduced controversy into his preach¬ 
 ing, never mentioned an error to expose or combat it. His 
 rule was ‘ build up truth and let error alone, and the error will 
 fall of itself. ’ He never directly referred to either Socinian- 
 ism or Arianism or any of their tenets. He assumed that his 
 own views were scriptural and true, and that none of the people 
 ever doubted it. ” Mr. Hudswell exercised the gift of proph¬ 
 ecy ; with what success, we shall soon be able to judge. On 
 one occasion, after listening to a sermon from his son, the Bev. 
 William Hudswell, now of Salem Chapel, Leeds, as they sat 
 together in the evening, he entered into conversation on 
 the prophecies of the Bible, when he said with great earnest¬ 
 ness : “ William, I shall never live to see it, but you may. 
 The year 1848, will be a very remarkable year among all 
 nations of Europe, and perhaps, for the world. But if you 
 live, as I hope you will, to the year 1866, it will be by 
 far the most remarkable of all. ” Mr. Hudswell died on 
 
154 
 
 the 27th of February, 1838, aged 68 years. His funeral ser¬ 
 mon was preached by the late Rev. Dr. Hamilton of Leeds. 
 
 Joseph Fox —As this gentleman and the other ministers 
 who follow are still living, our readers must not expect a 
 minute account respecting their personal history and character. 
 Mr. Fox, previous to his ministry at Morley, occupied the 
 pulpit at Albion Chapel, Leeds. Our recollection of the min¬ 
 istry of this excellent preacher, is somewhat akin to what we 
 have read of the experience of one of our greatest living 
 preachers, who describing his boyhood, says ;—“I was, when 
 at chapel, a very fidgetty mortal, not being at the time of life 
 to understand the sermons. My anxiety during the service 
 was to see, not exactly the preacher, but that delightful closure 
 of the book—that beautiful mellow slap, as one half of the 
 book kissed the other half, and announced that the service was 
 over.” Mr. Fox, during the time he was minister at the Old 
 Chapel, resided at Leeds, thus being deprived of the oppor¬ 
 tunity of pastoral visitation and watchfulness over his flock. 
 He was, as a preacher, a man of good abilities. He possessed 
 a clear understanding and evinced an accurate knowledge of 
 the doctrines of the Gospel. Whilst he laboured here, the 
 congregation increased considerably, and when he resigned the 
 charge in 1841, he left behind him a name that has been (ever 
 since that time) mentioned with great respect. Mr. Fox is 
 now resident in Manchester, and still exercises his ministerial 
 gifts, as occasion requires, sometimes paying a visit to the 
 scene of his former labours at Morley. 
 
 John Morris. —This excellent minister, who succeeded Mr. 
 Fox in the pastoral office at the Old Chapel, was born at Car¬ 
 marthen, in Wales, and educated in the Grammar School of 
 that town. After passing through the elementary principles of 
 learning in this school, he was sent to Blackburn College in 
 1833, where he studied four years. The first place that was 
 favoured with his stated labours was Springhead, near Man¬ 
 chester, a call to which place he accepted in 1837. From 
 
155 
 
 thence, after several years, in 1842, he accepted an invitation 
 to the Old Chapel, Morley, where he exercised his ministry 
 with great diligence, faithfulness and success for twelve years. 
 In 1854, he was honoured with an invitation to become presi¬ 
 dent of Brecon College in South Wales, where he is now 
 Professor of theology. As a preacher his manner of address 
 was plain, easy and unaffected. His language was simple, his 
 expressions pertinent and his delivery suited to the purposes of 
 devotion. He possessed a happy method of ingratiating him¬ 
 self with young people, whose interests he ever studied, and 
 his gentlemanly bearing secured him the respect and esteem of 
 all who were acquainted with him. Of his services in the 
 time of the cholera, reference is made elsewhere in this work. 
 
 James Wonnacott. —We have no materials furnishing us 
 with any particulars concerning Mr. Wonnacott, previous to his 
 settlement at the Old Chapel, except that he was educated for 
 the ministry at a Wesleyan Institution. He was ordained to 
 the pastorate at the Old Chapel in 1854, and remained five 
 years, during which time the church doubled the number of 
 its members, and was, at the time of his removal in a healthy 
 and united state. Mr. Wonnacott, during his residence at 
 Morley, published a “History of the Old Chapel,” and edited 
 a magazine, entitled—“The Morley and Churwell Magazine.” 
 The latter had only a brief existence, but the former had a 
 considerable sale. Mr. Wonnacott is now minister of the 
 Independent Chapel at Hertford. 
 
 Frederick Barnes, B.A.—Was bom at Southwell, in 
 Suffolk, on the 2nd of November, 1837. After about seven 
 years residence in Suffolk, his friends removed to Epping, 
 near London, where he was partially educated. When about 
 16 years of age, he went into a wholesale house in London, 
 in the iron trade, but in the course of two years removed to 
 Stroud, in Glo’stershire, where, under the direction of the Bev. 
 Mr. Wheeler, he read for eight months previous to going to 
 college. He entered upon academical studies at Springhill 
 
156 
 
 College, Birmingham, in 1856, matriculated at the London 
 University in July, 1858, and took the degree of B.A., 1861. 
 Mr. Barnes having finished his studies, came forth to the 
 discharge of ministerial duties. He entered upon the pastoral 
 office at the Old Chapel, Morley, and was ordained September 
 3rd,1862. The Rev.Eustace Cornier delivered the introductory 
 discourse; Rev. W. Wheeler gave the charge and Rev. Wm. 
 Thomas preached to the people. During Mr. Barnes’s min¬ 
 istry, he did not labour in vain, for he not only found the 
 number of his stated hearers increase, but had the satis¬ 
 faction of seeing many additions to his church. The Old 
 Chapel was restored in the last year of the ministry of this 
 gentleman. In Dec., 1865, he received and accepted a call to 
 Oxton Road Chapel, Birkenhead, where he is now labouring. 
 
 The clerks who officiated for the old ministers and the 
 congregation were men of good character. Old Stainer was 
 the first Church clerk, his successors were John Rayner, 
 Joseph Hague, who succeeded the other about 1721, 
 Nathaniel Slack, who was clerk 37 years, and George Smith 
 who occupied the post for about 40 years. 
 
 Having spoken of the chapel and its ministers, let us loiter 
 for a little in the venerable graveyard, 
 
 “ Where sleeps the fathers of this ancient place.” 
 
 Could we ransack the history of the many generations now 
 resting beneath the stones and hillocks around us, we should 
 become acquainted with many a story of thrilling interest, 
 connected with the doings and sayings of the village patri¬ 
 archs, “ the bookless historians of the hamlet,” who, in days 
 gone by, were wont to recount with pride, the traditions and 
 legends of still older times—the lives and changes of former 
 generations. Here they now slumber, and 
 
 “ Their name, their years, spelt by the unletter’d muse, 
 
 The place of fame and elegy supply; 
 
 And many a holy text around she strews, 
 
 That teach the rustic moralist to die. ” 
 
157 
 
 The graveyard is situated in a singularly retired spot. 
 A quiet and solemn repose seems to mingle with the scenery 
 around, increased by the antiquity of the memorials of the 
 dead. Though near the village, it is approached by a gentle 
 ascent, and as we enter its sacred area, we find ourselves 
 away from mills and houses, with no other buildings, except 
 the chapel and a mausoleum in sight. We purpose to notice 
 the many curious and rudely carved stones, with their inscrip¬ 
 tions, some of the latter having a strain of simple pathos in 
 them, while others, are either unmeaning or altogether unsuit¬ 
 able to the situation they occupy. Here is a tombstone erected 
 to the memory of Dorothy, daughter of Edmund Waller, the 
 poet who wrote flatteries in rhyme, addressed to Cromwell and 
 Charles the Second, and who when the latter remarked, that 
 his poetical panegyric of the Protector, was the best composi¬ 
 tion of the two, excused himself by saying, “ that poets are 
 most successful in fiction.” Near to this grave, is a monument 
 to a person of rank and fortune, as the epitaph implies: — 
 
 “ Within this tomb lie the remains of the Right Honble. Lady 
 Loughborough, Wife of Alexander Loughborough, Lord Chief 
 Justice of the Common Pleas. She was the only daughter of 
 John Dawson, Esq., and his wife Elizabeth. Her Ladyship died 
 the 14th of Feby., 1781, aged 36.” 
 
 We have already given an account of the ejected ministers 
 and of the tombs erected over their remains, but there is one 
 other of these ministers, who though it is believed was not a 
 stated minister at the Old Chapel, yet officiated as a supply, 
 and his remains are deposited under the west window. A 
 stone of antiquated appearance, bears the following, to his 
 memory:— 
 
 “Here lyeth the body of William Hawden, Minister, who de¬ 
 parted this life ye 26th day of August, 1699, and of age 88.” 
 
 “ The righteous hath hope in his death.” — Prov. ye 14, 32 v. 
 
 The name and misfortunes of this worthy man are preserved 
 in Calamy’s Nonconformist Memorial, from which we extract 
 the following :—“ Mr. William Hawden, the incumbent of 
 
 u 
 
158 
 
 Broadswort, was ejected by the five mile Act, and afterwards 
 settled at Sherbum and Wakefield. He preached both at 
 home and abroad, when opportunity offered, as long as his 
 sight continued ; but for the last eight or nine years he was 
 blind. However he still had frequent meetings in his own 
 house. He was an orthodox divine, a great enemy to all vice, 
 a zealous promoter of what was good, and a man of great 
 magnanimity and resolution. In 1685, when the Duke of 
 Monmouth landed, Hawden was sent prisoner to Hull, and 
 thence conveyed to York Castle where the commissioners 
 required him to be bound to his good behaviour, but he 
 peremptorily refused, knowing no occasion for it.” 
 
 Adjoining the tomb of Mr. Hawden, is the family grave 
 of the Hudswells. It is enclosed with palisades, and contains 
 a tomb-stone with the following inscription :— 
 
 “In memory of the late Rev. Abkaham Hudswell, 21 years 
 minister of the Old Chapel, Morley, who died Feby. 27th, 1838, 
 aged 68 years.” 
 
 The most ancient tomb-stone in the burial-ground is over one 
 William Tompson, who died July, 1667 ; but we believe that 
 still more ancient memorials were to be found in the chapel 
 itself some time ago. In order that our readers may form 
 some idea of the pains bestowed upon these memorials of the 
 dead in days long past, we have obtained facsimiles of four of 
 the oldest tombstones to be found in this quiet burying place. 
 
 On the south side of the chapel we find tombstones belong¬ 
 ing to members of the Greathead family. One is to the 
 memory of Henry Greathead, of Gildersome, a son of Major 
 Greathead, who died the 5th of July, 1718, aged 80; and 
 Martha his wife, who died the 15th of August, 1722. Another 
 stone records that Nehemiah Wood, of Gildersome, who 
 married Hannah, daughter of Major Greathead, died the 26th 
 of Oct., 1707, his wife following him, February 29th, 1752, 
 aged 88 years. Near to the above are the graves of the 
 Reyner family, and some of the Scatcherd’s family; other 
 
rj*K 
 
 ftfflERE LIETH P 
 Ja,THE BODY OF 
 STEPHEN THOMPSON 
 OF MOBLEY•WHO 
 DEPARTEDTHIS 
 LIFETHEf^lfOF 
 DECEMBER.-INTFE 
 WS, YEAR0FHI5JICE 
 IN THE YEAR OF 
 OVR LORD n 
 
 m 
 
 gfalme ffl 
 I Wio m h,i. L t ) i n heau tn 
 but the and there Jnone 
 upon earlh that jdefire 
 befides the S 
 
 Tyf - 
 
 eTl^e reSj3oo l> ; 
 rf' inlerrcG iheffi 
 bOOlJ of rn'3Ce.nru 
 (Troathreol oifjilder 
 some nino departed 
 tlui life the/'"dau 
 of £ui . me in the 7 
 6C uear of his Aqe 
 ALd ilarlha Lhe? 
 l^ntiff of q* above 
 ptenr:/ njho died 
 J thelj'dau of 
 [\Auqui 1 7Z2 in the 
 dl qtaf of bet Aqe. 
 
 -t,. . •: tp 
 
 ERE LYETH ~ 
 C3THE B0D'/ OF 
 yiM B S A M U EL BAILY 
 ’ niNISTE R-OF Tt£ 
 GOSPEL AT-MOR 
 ftLEV AND TCFLIFFE 
 
 PWHO departed 
 
 'ITHIS LIFE DE 
 CEMBER THEf'f 
 
 I n» ipro«rertxsII " v JO'TF*juiuolTfi*' 
 riRh(tous is a Irtc of life And he ^ 
 pr'thdl wmnelhfouls LSwifcc/ 3 
 ^.■DinicJi !Z ,h V,3Mnd lhey lhal be 
 [(f'O'vise Oufl fhine AS $ brlghlnifse 
 of y firmament Ana thty ih»t 
 \jliifn many i 0 nahlioufneCse as ,(i 
 f) IheS’UrrcS Tor ever &■ ever 
 Revelation i 4 ,k # li^Bie/sed are- 
 f ihe deaoi\tf’‘di« inu£ora from 
 j] henceforth yu fjiih tySpuii that 
 itheu miy ran from Iheir l*bours 
 l-ihetr works do follow them.l^] 
 
 ANCIENT TOMBSTONES IN OLD CHAPEL YARD MORLEY 
 
159 
 
 members of the latter family are buried in a large mausoleum 
 close by. This building presents no architectural features 
 worthy of notice, being a plain, heavy-looking erection. In 
 the centre of the south side of the chapel are the tombs of the 
 Dawsons, which we have not space to particularize. At some 
 distance N.E. of these is a stone curiously carved and inscribed 
 as follows:— 
 
 “In memory of Mr. Thomas Craster, who died May 13th, 
 1681, and of his son Thomas, who died March 6th, 1702, 
 aged 48.” 
 
 Allnsion has already been made to the latter of these persons, 
 as having served as pikeman in Sir Michael Wentworth’s 
 regiment of militia in 1680. 
 
 On the north side of the chapel, near the Troy Hill 
 entrance to the burial ground, is a plain headstone, bearing 
 the following inscription :— 
 
 “In memory of John Taylor, who died March 10th, 1860, 
 aged 63 years. For twenty-six years he was the attentive, punc¬ 
 tual, respected chapel-keeper at the Old Chapel, Morley.” 
 
 The following lines might very appropriately have been added: 
 
 “ The graves around for many a year, 
 
 Were dug by him who slumbers here, 
 
 Till worn with toil, he dropped his spade, 
 
 And in this dust his bones were laid; 
 
 As he now mouldering shares the doom. 
 
 Of those he buried in the tomb, 
 
 So shall he too with them arise, 
 
 To share the judgment of the skies.” 
 
 We might multiply our list of the tombstones in this ground 
 but our limits will not allow. We shall content ourselves with 
 observing that, as we leave the graveyard, by the principal 
 gateway, we pass the burial ground of the Websters, whose 
 benevolence of character and many social virtues, will long live 
 in the grateful remembrance of the inhabitants of this village. 
 The ground is enclosed with palisades, and contains eight 
 tombstones. The following inscriptions are copied from them. 
 
160 
 
 “ In memory of John Webster, who died May the 15th, 1831, 
 in the 79th year of his age.” 
 
 “Sacred to the memory of Thomas Webster, of Morley, 
 formerly of London. A man in sincere piety and benevolent 
 feeling, scarcely inferior to any. His commercial career was 
 marked by successful industry and undeviating integrity, while 
 he resided in London, and the later years of his life were spent 
 in this his native village, where like his divine master, he went 
 about doing good. He was born April 26th, 1779, and died 
 October 19th, 1831.” 
 
 “In memory of Nathaniel Webster, who died the 3rd day of 
 February, 1840, aged 63 years. 
 
 “Here lie interred the remains of Samuel Webstbr, of Bank 
 House, Morley, merchant. A man of sound judgment, joined 
 with undeviating principle, unostentatious in his manners, and 
 sincere in his piety, esteemed by the wise and good, and most 
 regretted by those who knew him best. He was born in this 
 village, Feby. 15th, 1784, and finished his course in it, April 2nd, 
 1837, aged 53 years. His name will be had in remembrance 
 here, and ‘ the memory of the just is blessed.’ ” 
 
 “ This stone records the memory of John Webster, of Spring- 
 field House, Morley, merchant. His commercial energy furnished 
 extensive employment for the industrious population of this 
 village and the regrets of his neighbours at his death, proclaim 
 the highest tribute to his worth. He was born on the 11th of • 
 December, 1788, and died on the 9th of December, 1839, aged 
 52 years. 
 
 The graveyard was renovated, during the restoration of the 
 chapel, though this little affects the sleepers who have reached 
 
 “ That quiet land where peril past, 
 
 The weary win a long repose, 
 
 The bruised spirit finds at last— 
 
 A balm for all its woes, 
 
 And lowly grief and lordly pride 
 Lay down like brothers side by side. 
 
 The breath of slander cannot come, 
 
 To break the calm that lingers there; 
 
 There is no dreaming in the tomb, 
 
 Nor waking in despair; 
 
 Unkindness cannot wound them now, 
 
 And all earth’s bitterness is o’er. 
 
161 
 
 Before leaving the graveyard, we must not omit to notice 
 that, on the south side of the chapel, and nearly in the centre 
 of the burial ground, is the base of a column, with part of the 
 shaft in its socket. Seatcherd tells us, that the old people of 
 his day, assured him, it was formerly a sun dial, but he did 
 not accept their opinion, and endeavours, in ten pages of his 
 History, to prove by analogy and in other ways, that an an¬ 
 cient church-yard cross once appeared upon the base of this 
 column. 
 
 The building near the entrance to the graveyard, now used, 
 the lower room for the heating apparatus for the chapel, and 
 the upper room as a vestry, was built for the purposes of a 
 stable on the ground floor, and a dining room above, in the 
 days when our forefathers on account of the distance from a 
 place of worship, were compelled to go to chapel on horseback 
 and stay in the neighbourhood, throughout the day. The 
 place was subsequently converted into a cottage for the 
 use of the sexton, and ultimately, to its present appearance. 
 
 The Old Parsonage, (80) is situated to the south of the 
 chapel, in Commercial Street. It has two frontages, one to 
 the west, the other to the south. The former was built for 
 the pastor’s residence, and the latter, as a place of worship, 
 at the time when the chapel was in possession of the Anglican 
 church, as will be seen from the copy of the license annexed, 
 and when the people had little expectation of the chapel being 
 restored to them or their succesors. This certificate of 
 license appears to have been obtained after the passing, and 
 by virtue of the Toleration Act, and it is to the following 
 effect.” At the general quarter sessions of the peace of our 
 Lord and Lady the King and Queen, held at Leeds, adjourn¬ 
 ment from another place in the West-Riding, the 18th day of 
 July, in the first year in the reign of our said Lord and Lady 
 William and Mary, now King and Queen of England, before 
 Sir John Kay, Bart.; Marmaduke Wentworth, and William 
 Lowther, Knights; William Norton, John Townley, and 
 
162 
 
 Bobert Ferrand, Esquires, and other justices; these are to 
 certify that the house built by the inhabitants of Morley, 
 within the said West-Biding was recorded at the sessions 
 above-said, for a meeting-place for a congregation or assembly 
 for religious worship, according to the form of the statute in 
 that case made and provided.” On this certificate is the 
 endorsement:—“ This is the certificate for the chapel or 
 public meeting-house of Morley.” The portion used as a 
 chapel, has undergone much subsequent alteration ; but, even 
 within a comparatively recent period, the window mullions and 
 the thin wainscotted partitions separating the parlour, showed 
 plainly enough that it was formerly but one apartment. The 
 probability is, all these circumstances being considered, that 
 the minister’s residence was built in 1686, when Mr. Dawson 
 was invited to settle at Morley, but that the addition of a 
 meeting-place was not made until 1689, when the license was 
 granted. 
 
 In looking over the Begister Books, of the Old Chapel, 
 which are perfect from the middle of the seventeenth century, 
 one of the first things that struck us was, the recurrence of 
 the same surnames, in some instances, from the first almost to 
 the last page. We need not encourage the pride of 
 pedigree amongst our neighbours, by the mention of names, 
 yet we may say that, there are amongst us those in very 
 humble life, who, if a fortune depended upon their proving a 
 continuous line of descent for the last two centuries, would 
 have no difficulty in “ coming into possession.” We found, 
 also many Christian names, in the register of two centuries 
 ago, that are now never heard, as for instance, amongst the 
 females we find the names of Bathshua, Mehelebal, Tamar, 
 Deborah, Jabesh, Bethiah, Gershon, Bosamond, Penelope, 
 Theadocia; and amongst the males, Elyezer, Barriah, and 
 Defience. On a minute inspection of these records of the past 
 we were struck with the longevity of the inhabitants of Morley. 
 More than an average of the entries of deaths, are of persons 
 
163 
 
 of advanced ages, as the following extract, taken at random, 
 will show. In 1755, twenty-four burials took place, and 
 amongst the number, we find the following names and ages :— 
 
 Sarah Rhodes. 
 
 .74 
 
 William Ward. 
 
 ..70 
 
 Elizabeth Worseman. 
 
 .77 
 
 Hannah Asquith .... 
 
 ..86 
 
 Dorothy Rothwell.. . 
 
 .84 
 
 Jonathan Fothergill.. 
 
 ..74 
 
 J. E. Cooper. 
 
 .73 
 
 Sarah Balmforth . . . 
 
 . .85 
 
 Thomas Ward. 
 
 .77 
 
 Sarah Foster. 
 
 ..84 
 
 Connected with this list is the circumstance that, nearly all 
 the above-named persons have descendants still living in 
 Morley, which goes to shew that our villagers are well satisfied 
 with the allotment of Providence as regards their dwelling-place. 
 
 In leaving the Old Chapel with all its historical associations, 
 and the venerable graveyard with its suggestive lessons, we 
 would adopt the language of the poet:— 
 
 Here could I wish to sleep. This is the spot 
 Which I have long mark’d out to lay my bones in: 
 
 Tired out and wearied with the riotous world, 
 
 Beneath this sod I would be sepulchred. 
 
 It is a lovely spot! ’Tis a nook most pleasant. 
 
 Grant, heaven, that here my pilgrimage may close 1 
 Yet, if this be denied, where’er my bones 
 May lie * * * * yet still 
 
 (For why should sober reason cast away 
 A thought which soothes the soul ?) yet still my spirit 
 Shall wing its way to these my native regions, 
 
 And hover o’er this spot. 
 
RAMBLE VII, 
 
 “ And so by many winding nooks he strays, 
 
 With willing sport.” 
 
 Shakespebb, 
 
 “ I love each lane, and every alley green, 
 
 Dingle or bushy dell Of the wild wood ; 
 
 And every bosky bourn from side to side, 
 
 My daily walks and ancient neighbourhood.” 
 
 Anon. 
 
 Returning to the Three Steps, we will pursue our walk along 
 Queen Street, better known as Middlethorpe, and passing 
 Morley House, we presently come to a dwelling-house on 
 our left, formerly occupied by a person whose name for many 
 years was a terror to evildoers as well as to the children of our 
 village ; for thirty years ago the name of John Hollings was a 
 household word, and woe betide the wrong-doer, if he were 
 delivered up to the tender mercies of our village constable. 
 A little beyond this house, on the same side of the road, are 
 two old tumble-down, one-storey huts that, having served the 
 purpose for which they were put up, ought to have been 
 removed long ago. They are a disgrace to the village, 
 shewing as they do, the miserable provision made by our 
 forefathers for the comfort of the poor amongst them. The 
 site of these cottages was granted to the town’s authorities 
 considerably more than a century ago by the Earl of Dartmouth, 
 for the purpose of building upon it a workhouse, or house for 
 the poor, a miserable substitute for that sacred spot. 
 
 Close to these old buildings is the home of the Mechanics’ 
 Institution, (81) in a neat and tolerably convenient building. 
 The want of some popular institution, affording its members 
 means of improvement and recreation had long been felt in 
 Morley, and in April, 1844, that want was met by the estab- 
 
165 
 
 lishment of the “ Moriey Young Men’s Improvement Society” 
 by which name it was known for many years. The honour of 
 its formation belongs to Mr. William Stansfield, in connexion 
 with the Rev. John Calvert, Messrs. Joshua Asquith and 
 Samuel Mitchell. These gentlemen called a public meeting 
 in the Town’s School, and the project being favourably 
 received by the public, a room was taken in the house occupied 
 by John Hollings to which reference has just been made; 
 though their place of meeting was very uncomfortable, the so¬ 
 ciety remained in it several years ; after this, two rooms were 
 rented in a building on Clay Hill, now converted into a beer¬ 
 house. Here, the Institution was buried for several years; 
 a stranger passing the place could not have supposed that 
 literature had there found a home, for as Dickens’ says, “it led 
 a modest and retired existence up a stable yard. ” In the 
 year 1853, the institution had well nigh ceased to exist; but 
 a few friends determined upon its resuscitation ; additional 
 members were procured, and more convenient premises ob¬ 
 tained, and we trust that, ere long, this excellent institution 
 will be provided with accommodation corresponding with its 
 claims upon the public, and that a public hall congruous to 
 the wealth, intelligence, and increasing importance of the 
 village, and making provision for the meeting of mechanics’ 
 and kindred societies will soon be built. The present state 
 of the Institute will be best ascertained from the following 
 abstract of the report, read at the annual soiree, October, 
 1865, over which Viscount Milton, M.P., F.R.G.S. presided. 
 The secretary stated that the number of members was 120 
 males and 24 females, and the attendance at the classes 28. 
 He also said, that the committee had been at considerable 
 expense during the year in making comfortable class-rooms. 
 The reading-room was well attended; the library contained 
 702 volumes and 1500 had been issued during the year. 
 Previous to the formation of this society, the facilities for 
 reading were very small and the desire less; our villagers 
 
 x 
 
166 
 
 liad no general libraries excepting those supplied by the 
 Sunday schools, and these necessarily limited. But in ad¬ 
 dition to these there might have been found in nearly every 
 cottage in Morley a few household books, such as the Bible, 
 Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress, Culpeper’s Herbal, an Almanac 
 for the current year, probably interlined and marked with 
 important entries, and a few tracts. This stock constituted 
 the mental furniture of a majority of the houses of our fore¬ 
 fathers. By the removal of the taxes on knowledge; the 
 issue of penny newspapers; the organization of mechanics’ 
 institutions, and kindred associations, this state of things 
 exists no longer. In the rooms belonging to this institution 
 the Mobley Naturalists’ Society hold their fortnightly 
 meetings. This society has been in existence two years, and 
 was formed for the purpose of disseminating local natural 
 science, and for the exchange of specimens. 
 
 A short walk from the Mechanics’ Institute, brings us to 
 the Old Manor House, (32) standing back from the street a 
 few yards, and situated near the centre of the village. With 
 respect to the ancient lords of the manor of Morley much might 
 be said if the limits of this work permitted, but we may observe 
 that it has been successively held by Ilbert de Lacy, Ralph de 
 Insula, the Rotherfields, Beestons, Derfords or Derfields, 
 Mirfields and Saviles, by which family it came into the Earl 
 of Dartmouth’s possession. The Manor House, internally or 
 externally, presents little to interest. We have not been able 
 to ascertain when it was built, but we know that considerably 
 more than two hundred years ago it was in the occupation of 
 a noted character in those days, one Captain Thomas Oates. This 
 person was connected with the conspiracy of 1663, called the 
 “Famley Wood Plot,” in fact, he was the leader of that 
 unsuccessful insurrection. The purpose of this plot will be 
 best gathered from the following account from Drake’s History 
 of York. “ In 1663, was an insurrection in Yorkshire, the 
 leaders of which were all conventicle preachers and old parlia- 
 
MANOR HOUSE WIORLEY 
 
167 
 
 ment soldiers. Their pretences for this rebellion were to 
 redeem themselves from the excise and all subsidies,—to 
 re-establish a gospel magistracy and ministry,—to restore the 
 long parliament, and reform all orders and degrees of men, 
 especially the lawyers and clergy. In order to this, they 
 printed a declaration, or according to Eachard, a call to 
 rebellion beginning with these words;—‘ If there be any city, 
 county, or town in the three nations that will begin the 
 righteous and glorious work, &c.’ ” Morley responded to this 
 call, and on the 12th of Oct., 1663, a little before midnight 
 the conspirators met at a place called “ The Trench ” in Farnley 
 Wood. Only twenty-one persons assembled at that time, of 
 whom the following were from Morley, viz:—Captain Thomas 
 Oates, Kalph Oates, his son—Joshua Cardmaker, alias Asquith, 
 alias Sparling, Luke Lund, John Ellis, William Westerman, 
 John Fozzard and William Tolson ; the rest came from Dun- 
 ningley, Gildersome and other places. This paltry attempt at 
 rebellion was soon at an end. A body of regular troops and 
 militia advanced against them;—some were taken on the spot, 
 and many who were concerned in the scheme were afterwards 
 arrested. Captain Oates, with twenty of his companions were 
 executed,—three of them upon Chapeltown Moor. Previous 
 to taking part in this plot, our Captain was the “village 
 schoolmaster” and taught his boys in the chancel end of the 
 Old Chapel. 
 
 The Old Manor House is also worthy of notice as the birth¬ 
 place of one of England’s merchant princes, who is still living, 
 and enjoying a well-deserved reputation throughout his native 
 country. Titus Salt was born here September 20th, 1803. 
 Mr. Daniel Salt, his father, was at that time engaged in the 
 business of an ironmonger, and highly respected in the village. 
 But finding that business did not realise his expectations, he 
 removed when his son was a few years old, to a farm at Crofton, 
 near Wakefield, and subsequently to Bradford, where he com¬ 
 menced the business of a woolstapler. Master Salt was in due 
 
168 
 
 time sent to school, and subsequently taken into the warehouse 
 to assist his father. Whatever deficiency there may have been 
 in his early training was well supplied by the more effective 
 discipline of self-education. Having acquainted himself with 
 the routine of the warehouse, he was sent to leam the 
 worsted spinning business; and when this was acquired he 
 commenced with his father, the manufacture of worsted goods. 
 He endeavoured to introduce new improvements into that 
 branch of industry and was very successful; but it was not 
 till a later period that he found the article, with which his 
 speculative mind was afterwards so much absorbed, and which 
 in a great measure laid the foundation of his future success. 
 A writer in Dickens’ Household Words has given the following 
 interesting account of Mr. Salt’s first purchase of alpaca 
 wool:—“ Sixteen years ago—that is to say in the year 1836 
 —a huge pile of dirty-looking sacks, filled with some fibrous 
 materials which bore a strong resemblance to superannuated 
 horse-hair, or frowsy elongated wool, or anything else un¬ 
 pleasant and unattractive, were landed at Liverpool. When 
 those queer looking bales had first arrived, or by what vessel 
 brought, and for what purpose intended, the very oldest ware¬ 
 houseman in the Liverpool dock, couldn’t say. There had 
 been once a rumour, a mere warehouseman’s whisper, that the 
 bales had been shipped from South America on spec., and 
 consigned to the agency of C. W. and F. Foozle and Co. 
 But even this seemed to have been forgotten; and it was 
 agreed on all hands that the three hundred and odd sacks of 
 nondescript hair wool were a perfect nuisance. Well, those 
 bales seemed liked to rot, or fall to dust, or to be bitten up for 
 the particular use of the rats. Brokers would not so much as 
 look at them. Dealers couldn’t make them out. Manu¬ 
 facturers shook their heads at the bare mention of them. 
 While the agent of C. W. and F. Foozle and Co., felt quite 
 savage at the sight of the invoice and bill of lading, and once 
 spoke to their head clerk about shipping them out to South 
 
169 
 
 America again. One day—we won’t care wliat day it was, or 
 even wliat week, or month, though things of far less national 
 importance have been chronicled to the very half minute—one 
 day a plain business looking young man, with an intelligent 
 face, and a quiet, reserved manner, was walking alone through 
 those same warehouses at Liverpool, when his eye fell upon 
 some of the superannuated horse hair projecting from one of 
 the ugly dirty bales. Our friend took it up, looked at it, smelt 
 it, nibbed it, pulled it about; in fact, he did all but taste it, 
 and he would have done that if it had suited his purpose, for 
 he was “Yorkshire.” Having held it up to the light, and 
 held it away from the light, and held it in all sorts of positions 
 and done all sorts of cruelties to it, as though it had been his 
 most deadly enemy, and he was feeling quite vindictive; he 
 placed a handful or two in his pocket and walked calmly away, 
 evidently intending to put the stuff to some excruciating pri¬ 
 vate tortures at home. What particular experiments he tried 
 with this fibrous substance I am not exactly in a position to 
 relate, nor does it much signify; but the sequel was, that the 
 same quiet business looking man was seen to enter the office 
 of C. W. and F. Foozle and Co., and ask for the head of the 
 firm. When he asked that portion of the house if he would 
 accept of eightpence per pound for the entire contents of the 
 three hundred and odd frowsy, dusty, bags of nondescript wool, 
 the authority interrogated felt so confounded, that he could not 
 have told if he had been the head or tail of the firm. At first 
 he fancied our friend had come for the express purpose of quiz¬ 
 zing him; then that he was an escaped lunatic, and thought 
 seriously of calling for the police; but eventually it ended in 
 his making over to him the bill of lading for the goods in con¬ 
 sideration of the price offered. It was quite an event in the 
 little dark office of C. W. & F. Foozle and Co., which had its 
 supply of light (of a very inferior quality) from the grim old 
 church-yard. All the establishment stole a peep at the buyer 
 of the ‘ South American stuff.’ The chief clerk had the curio- 
 
170 
 
 sity to speak to him and hear him reply. The cashier touched 
 his coat tails; the book-keeper, a thin man in spectacles, 
 examined his hat and gloves; the porter openly grinned at him. 
 When the quiet purchaser had departed, C. W. and F. Foozle 
 and Co. shut themselves up and gave all their clerks a holiday. 
 But if the sellers had cause for rejoicing, not less so had the 
 buyer. Header, those three hundred and odd hales of queer¬ 
 looking, South American stuff, contained “Alpaca Wool,” at 
 that time entirely unknown to our manufacturers, and which it 
 would still have been hut for the fortunate enterprise of one 
 intelligent, courageous man.” Since this introduction of alpaca, 
 it has attained a world-wide popularity. Mr. Salt persevered, 
 and in 1853, he opened a model mill, the most splendid 
 of its kind in England, and has there, now employed in it, four 
 thousand people, for whose benefit he also built a model town, 
 with baths and wash-houses, a chapel, spacious school-roooms 
 and a mechanics’ institute. Though the town is of considerable 
 extent, there is no public-house or pawnshop within its bound¬ 
 aries. The example of perseverance and success which we 
 have so imperfectly sketched, we think, well-worthy the 
 imitation of “young Morley,” and that instead of brooding over 
 their difficulties, dreaming away their lives, they will do well 
 to learn a lesson from the career of Titus Salt, Esq., ex. M.P. 
 for Bradford. 
 
 The Manor House is at present occupied by William Ellis, 
 Esq., surgeon, a man of talent and acquirements in his 
 profession, and highly respected in the village. He has on 
 many occasions rendered good service to the mechanics’ and 
 other institutions, by the reading of lectures, etc. 
 
 A little above this ancient house, and on the opposite side 
 of the road, is the entrance that leads, by an asphalted road, 
 to Zion Chapel (33), belonging to the denomination of 
 Independents. In the latter part of the last century, during 
 the ministry of the Rev. Thomas Clough at the Old New 
 Chapel, a.section of the worshippers at that place, resolved to 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
171 
 
 withdraw from it, and betook themselves for worship to the 
 house of one Margeson at Churwell. After meeting for awhile 
 the house proved too small to accommodate the people, and a 
 resolution was passed to build a chapel, each member of that 
 small band engaging to exert himself to the utmost of hia 
 ability. In the year 1804 they erected a chapel near the top 
 of Churwell Hill, at a cost of little more than £800, and 
 from its proximity to Daffil or Daffield Wood, it was called 
 “ Daffil Chapel.” The first and only stated minister who 
 ever occupied the pulpit was Mr. Nathaniel Dickenson, a 
 native of Morley, and one of their own number. He was a 
 man of eminent piety, and though possessed of few scholarly 
 attainments, he was distinguished by a strong and active 
 mind. He preached for the space of forty years, with great 
 acceptance, and his labours were rewarded with success. He 
 was never ordained to the pastoral office. The ministers in 
 the district refused him the rite, excusing themselves on the 
 ground that “ he was self-taught, and would not hold on in 
 the work of preaching for more than a year or two.” He 
 finished his course on the 16th of May, 1846, in the 73rd 
 year of his age. His loss was long and deeply felt, and his 
 memory is still fragrant in the recollection of many. For 
 several years after Mr. Dickenson’s death, the pulpit was 
 supplied by the Leeds Town Mission and others. In 1850, 
 the congregation, chiefly residing at Morley, determined to 
 build a new chapel at Morley, and to this end bought an 
 eligible plot of land, in the centre of the village, on which 
 they erected the present chapel and laid out a burying ground. 
 The opening sendees took place in 1851, and for about four 
 years the pulpit was supplied by “itinerants” when a call 
 was given to the Rev. Richard Harris of Westbury, who 
 accepted it, and became the pastor of this people for about five 
 years. In 1862, an unaminous call was given to and accept¬ 
 ed by, the Rev. D. W. Rowe, of Gainsborough, who still 
 remains amongst them. Zion Chapel is a neat brick edifice, 
 
172 
 
 occupying a most eligible position. The chapel is entered by 
 a flight of ten steps, and a small vestibule with two entrances 
 to the body of the chapel. On one side of the vestibule is 
 the vestry, and on the other, the staircase leading to the 
 gallery. The gallery is nearly semicircular and is used as a 
 Sunday school at present. The pews in the bottom are made 
 of deal and varnished, having mahogany cappings. The 
 accommodation is estimated for 600 persons. The chapel 
 contains a small organ, is lighted by a large gasalier suspended 
 from the ceiling, and warmed by hot air. The total cost was 
 £1,000. The church and congregation have commenced the 
 erection of new schools, near to the chapel, towards which 
 desirable object, subscriptions amounting to more than £400 
 are already promised. The first stone was laid on Good 
 Friday, 1866, by Joshua Taylor, Esq., of Batley. 
 
 Re-entering Queen Street and crossing the highway, we 
 come upon the extensive machine works, known as Hope 
 Foundry (34), belonging to Messrs. J. Rhodes and Sons. 
 Thirty years ago the head of this firm occupied a small shop 
 in Queen Street, where he carried on the business of jenny- 
 making and other similar work, in a very humble manner. 
 In course of time he saw the advantage to be derived from 
 following in the wake of the improvements then being intro¬ 
 duced into the machinery in use at Morley. The above- 
 named foundry was erected in 1854; the premises are extensive, 
 building having been added to building, and shed to shed, 
 till they have spread themselves over a large area, and are 
 well fitted for their purpose. Messrs Rhodes and Sons have 
 acquired some note in the manufacture of rag and piecing 
 machines, condensors, slubbing-horses, etc., and the name is 
 now a guarantee for excellence in these articles ; the produc¬ 
 tions of the firm are in use in nearly every part of the kingdom 
 and are also well known and largely used on the continent. 
 
 Wesley Street, branching out of Queen Street, is so called 
 in honour of the New Wesleyan Chapel (35), which occu- 
 

 
 
 Hope Foundry Morley 
 

 
173 
 
 pies a prominent position on one side of it. When Methodism 
 was first introduced into Morley we cannot say, but we have 
 reason to question the account given by Scatcherd in his 
 History. He says “ It was not, however, in 1763, but many 
 years before it, that the village was first visited by an illiterate 
 and itinerant ministry. The Methodists who sprang up about 
 1729, and became considerable by Whitfield’s party in 1735, 
 soon found their way to Morley; and assisted by the celebra¬ 
 ted Miss Bosanquet, who then lived at Cross Hall, built a 
 meeting-house in 1756.” Now, it so happens, that that good 
 lady only settled in Yorkshire in 1768 and lived for awhile at 
 Gildersome, previous to her occupancy of Cross Hall. Wo 
 have reason to believe that when the Methodists first com¬ 
 menced operations in Morley, they preached and held their 
 meetings in private houses, and often in the open air. In the 
 year 1770, with the help of the aforesaid lady, they erected a 
 plain and simple edifice, on land leased from the Earl of 
 Dartmouth. The chapel still stands, near to the new one, 
 and is now used as a day school for infants. In 1800, in 
 consequence of an increase in the congregation, the old chapel 
 was enlarged, and again in 1840, it underwent a further en¬ 
 largement. During the early days 'of Methodism in our 
 village, the people were often encouraged by the presence 
 amongst them, of their leader and founder, the Rev. John 
 Wesley. We find an entry in his Journal which, states he 
 preached in Morley, on Thursday, April 21st, 1840, and that 
 his text was;—“0 thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou 
 doubt.” That distinguished divine visited his adherents here, 
 and preached to them, on the 23rd April, 1747, also, on the 
 7th of July, 1770, again in August, 1777, and on other 
 occasions previous to his death. In 1859, a meeting of the church 
 and congregation was called “to consider the propriety of 
 erecting a large new chapel.” The meeting was well attended, 
 and all present seemed to enter into the business of the even¬ 
 ing with spirit; at the close £1,200 was subscribed towards 
 
 if 
 
174 
 
 the cost of a new building. The old chapel with a considerable 
 extent of land near, was purchased of the Earl of Dartmouth, 
 and the foundation stone of the new structure was laid on 
 September 20th, 1859, by the Rev. S. D. Waddy, president 
 of the conference. In 1861, the building was publicly dedi¬ 
 cated to the worship of Amighty God, when appropriate 
 sermons were preached on the 12th of July, by the Rev. G. 
 B. Macdonald, and the venerable Dr. Dixon, of Bradford. 
 Further services were conducted by the Kevs. W. Orgar, 
 Independent, of Morley, S. D. Waddy, L. Tyerman, H. Hine, 
 and M. C. Osborn, which were closed by a successful gleaning 
 service, conducted by the Rev. R. Roberts, of London, on Tues¬ 
 day, July the 28rd. The contributions at these services 
 reached the liberal sum of £525. The new chapel is by far 
 the finest building in Morley. It is an imposing and elegant 
 stone structure, in the Italian style of architecture, and was 
 designed by Mr. James Simpson, of Leeds. It is a specimen 
 of the great improvement in popular taste—by which, dis¬ 
 senting chapels, formerly built in almost barn-like simplicity, 
 now vie, in beauty of decoration and chasteness of ornament, 
 with our Established Churches. The front has pilasters and 
 pediment and two doorways. The vestibule is small. Here 
 are the staircases leading to the galleries, as well as the two 
 doorways leading into the aisles which extend the whole length 
 of the chapel, At the opposite end of the chapel the pulpit is 
 placed, with the communion table in front of it. On either side 
 of the pulpit are the free seats, with accommodation for 300 
 persons. There is a gallery along the sides and one end of the 
 chapel, a recess behind the pulpit being occupied by the organ 
 and singers pew. The whole of the wood-work is painted 
 white, picked with gold, except the tops of the pews, com¬ 
 munion rails and pulpit which are mahogany. The building 
 is wanned in winter with hot water. For evening service, the 
 building is lighted with gas. In the ceiling there are four 
 sunlights which illumine the gallery and body of the chapel. 
 
WESLEYAN CHAPEL. MORLEY. 
 

 
175 
 
 and underneath the galleries are four smaller sunlights. The 
 acoustic properties of the place are excellent. The chapel will 
 accommodate 1,000 people, and cost, exclusive of the organ, 
 about £2,500. The organ built by Mr. Booth, of Wakefield, 
 was put into the chapel in 1868. It was opened in November 
 of that year, by George Hirst, Esq., of Liverpool, with a 
 selection of instrumental music, from the works of Weber, 
 Bach, Spohr, and others. The organ has twenty-nine sound¬ 
 ing stops, three manuals and pedals. It cost, with the case, 
 (which is in the Italian style, from a chaste and beautiful 
 design), near £500. 
 
 In March of the present year, premises on Banks Hill, 
 were rented by the denomination, and have been opened as a 
 Preaching House and Sunday School. The dedicatory sermon 
 was preached by the Rev. E. Hayward, of Birstal. The 
 Wesleyans have in contemplation the erection of a new chapel 
 in this thickly populated part of the village. 
 
 We have been given to understand that the Methodists of 
 1766, in Morley, were, with perhaps one or two exceptions, 
 of the humblest class in life, without either worldly wealth, 
 worldly influence or worldly reputation, but the character of 
 the congregation has undergone a change since that time, and 
 and now they have amongst them considerable opulence and 
 respectability, and Methodism has now become a power in 
 Morley, despite the predictions of our village historian, who 
 speaking of Wesley and Methodism, says;—“The foundation 
 stone, indeed, of his mighty edifice, appears to me, to be laid 
 in the power of novelty, and so long as that remains, and the 
 mass of mankind are illiterate, the building which he has 
 reared will stand.” Previous to the year 1865, Morley was 
 included in the Birstal Circuit, but a successful application to 
 be made the head of a circuit was made by the Wesleyans of 
 Morley, to the Conference in that year. Churwell, Tingley 
 and Gildersome, are joined to Morley, and the two resident 
 ministers appointed to the circuit,are—the Revs. James Smeeth 
 
176 
 
 and W. S. Nichol. The burial ground adjoining the chapel 
 is of considerable extent, and is well fenced round. The 
 small plot of land between the old and new chapels, is taste¬ 
 fully planted with shrubs of various kinds. The school 
 connected with the chapel, stands in one corner of the grounds, 
 a little distance from the chapel. 
 
 The institution now known as the Wesleyan Sunday 
 School had its origin about the year 1792, at which period a 
 man named Bobert Morley, collected a number of children 
 together at his own house, Town End, on the sabbath day to 
 teach them to read. After the lapse of a few years, he was 
 removed, then Michael Sheard and Job Longley commenced a 
 sabbath school at the house of the first-named. A few years 
 after this, they removed to Mr. John Cockerham’s day school, 
 in the Hungerhill, where a paid teacher was employed regular¬ 
 ly till the year 1816, when the friends built a commodious 
 school, which would accomodate 250 children. It was fitted 
 up to teach on the Lancasterian System, which was, teaching 
 by monitors, and a master to manage the whole. The school 
 continued to be taught on this system till the year 1835, 
 when it was remodelled, and the paid teacher dispensed with. 
 The scholars rapidly increased under the new system, and it 
 was found necessary to enlarge the school-room, which was 
 effected in 1850, and the school will now accommodate near 
 600 children A day school is also kept here, G. W. Welch, 
 master, with five pupil teachers. No. of scholars, 244. The 
 report of the government inspector, at the last examination, 
 was of a very satisfactory character. An infants’ school is 
 also kept in the Old Wesleyan Chapel, Miss Mc’Clellan, 
 mistress, She is assisted by three teachers and one monitor. 
 No. of children, 185. Total taught in the schools connected 
 with' this denomination, 429. 
 
 In no part of our ancient village, have the improvements of 
 the past ten years, made such progress as in the neighbour¬ 
 hood of Wesley Street. Dwelling-houses of all descriptions 
 

 
 
 
-u. 
 
 PEEL MILLS, MORLEY. 
 
177 
 
 are here, some very respectable indeed, and where, ten years 
 ago, there were nothing but green fields, a considerable popu¬ 
 lation has been gathered. From the position of these houses, 
 the place has been designated “ New Scarbro.” 
 
 Pursuing our ramble along Queen Street, we soon come, on 
 our left, to Peel Street, alias Andrew Lane, alias Overend 
 Lane, and diverging from our route a little, we will walk to 
 the bottom of this street, where we shall see, directly facing 
 us, the Reform Chapel (36). This body of Christians is a 
 split from the Wesleyan Methodists, and has now existed for 
 about ten years in Morley. The immediate cause of that 
 separation is too well known to our readers, to require any 
 explanation in this work. For awhile, the Reformers in 
 Morley worshipped in the Town’s School, Troy Hill. The 
 society prospered, the congregation steadily increased, and the 
 school became too small. Arrangements were then made for 
 building the present chapel, with school-room underneath, to 
 cost £600. The chapel was built, and opened in August, 
 1858, when*sermons were preached by the Revs. James 
 Everett, of Newcastle, R. Hands, Morley, T. Rowland, New¬ 
 castle, and Jonah Reeve, Morley. The chapel is a small but 
 neat stone structure, and is approached by a flight of steps. 
 In the vestibule are the doors leading to the body of the 
 chapel; on the left is the vestry, and on the right, the stair¬ 
 case leading to the gallery, which occupies one end of the 
 chapel, the other being appropriated for the pulpit and singing 
 pew. The building is warmed by hot water, and lighted in 
 the evening by a large gasalier, suspended from the centre of 
 the ceiling. The chapel will accommodate about 400 persons. 
 Underneath is a residence for the chapel-keeper, and a com¬ 
 modious school-room. 
 
 Near to this place, is a cluster of buildings, known as Peel 
 Mills (37), the property of two brothers,—Messrs. W. and 
 E. Jackson. These factories, the most extensive in the village, 
 belonging to private owners, are well calcutated to teach a 
 
178 
 
 lesson to the young men of Morley, as they look upon them 
 as the product of plodding industry. The career of their 
 owners affords another encouraging example of the power of 
 man to carve out for himself an useful and honourable course ; 
 they have added their names to the number of praiseworthy 
 men who have worked their way up from a humble position in 
 life to comparative affluence. 
 
 Retracing our steps into Queen Street, we pursue our 
 ramble, and shortly come to a stone building on our right, 
 used as a Sunday school by the Primitive Methodists. This 
 building was erected by that denomination in 1887, two years 
 after the erection of a chapel for their use in Hungerhill. 
 Previous to this school being built, the Sunday school was 
 kept in a house in the Town End. 
 
 Passing the Fountain Inn, a few steps brings us to the 
 National School (39), erected in 1837, by the combined 
 liberality of the Earl of Dartmouth and the friends of the Estab¬ 
 lished Church. The ceremony of laying the foundation stone of 
 this building was performed on Easter Monday, with masonic 
 honours, by brother, the Honourable Philip Savile, son of the 
 Earl of Mexborough, assisted by brothers Charles Brandling, 
 Esq., of Middleton, Charles Lee, Esq., of Leeds, the Rev. C. 
 Clapham, G. P. C., of Armley, and a large assemblage of the 
 craft. The Freemasons, succeeded by nearly 200 of the 
 society of Odd-fellows, together with the children of the 
 Parish School and many of the townspeople walked in pro¬ 
 cession to the church, where a sermon was delivered by the 
 Rev. G. S. Bull, of Bierley. The school was built to supply 
 the inhabitants of that end of the village with divine service 
 and a Sunday school, the church of St. Peter being at too great 
 a distance for aged people and for the children who wished to 
 attend school. The following account of the opening services 
 on New Year’s Day, 1838, will, no doubt, be interesting to 
 the friends of the Established Church. “ This interesting 
 event took place on Monday last, and in order to celebrate its 
 
179 
 
 occurrence, tea was provided for a large number of females, 
 and a supper of roast beef and plum-pudding for the males. 
 The chair was ably filled by the Kev. A. Cassells, supported 
 by John Swinden, Esq. Many appropriate toasts and 
 speeches were delivered which excited much cheering, but the 
 burst of applause that resounded through the assembly at the 
 toast of ‘ the Church,’ which was eloquently proposed by the 
 Vice-chairman, must have been gratifying to every lover of her 
 welfare. A beautiful toned little bell suspended in the cupola 
 bearing the inscription ‘ Thomas Foxley, M.A., Vicar, gave 
 me, A.D., 1887.’ rendered its services for the first time, and 
 greeted melodiously the national flag that floated above, and 
 its aid will, we understand, hereafter be occasionally required 
 to summon the inhabitants of that end of the village to the 
 worship of Almighty God after the fashion of their forefathers 
 in the pure ritual of the holy church.” 
 
 For a few years the school was used as a place of public 
 worship as well as a Sunday school, but subsequently, these 
 were given up, and the place occupied as a day school only, 
 by the late Mr. David Butterfield, until a few years ago, when 
 ill health compelled him to lay aside the cane, and the pen, 
 the former of which, it is said he used quite as much as the 
 the latter. Not, that we can say, that he used it undeservedly, 
 for amongst his pupils, he had generally a fair proportion of 
 those who were not backwards in putting into practice the 
 various expedients, by which school-boys contrive to learn as 
 little as possible. After this time the school remained un¬ 
 tenanted, and was becoming dilapidated, when the present 
 incumbent of St. Peter’s decided, in the summer of 1865, to 
 re-open it, as a place of worship and for other purposes. 
 After a complete renovation and several important additions in 
 the shape of entrance porch, new windows, etc., the re-opening 
 was celebrated in November, 1865, by a tea and public 
 meeting. A Sunday afternoon service, Sunday school, day 
 school, and penny savings’ bank, are now regularly held here. 
 
180 
 
 Cinderhill, on our left, derives its name from the numer¬ 
 ous beds of cinders deposited here in former times. In the 
 reign of the Plantagenets, and probably before them, there 
 were many foundries in Morley and the neighbourhood. It is 
 a striking fact, connected with these foundries that, though they 
 were in many instances actually upon, and but a few yards above 
 beds of coal, the owners used timber more than anything else 
 for their blast or smelting. One of these foundries was at the 
 top of Neepshaw Lane, the place still being known as the 
 “ Stone Pits ” thus bespeaking its origin, for the ore in this 
 neighbourhood is still called “ironstone;” it is, therefore, 
 probable that for brevity, the old works or mines would be 
 called the stone pits. That stone was not meant is certain, 
 for there was no stone suitable for building or road purposes 
 in that locality. Scatcherd says—“Before the woollen trade 
 hereabouts became prevalent, the iron trade was carried on to 
 a great extent nearly all around us. The Leightons of Batley, 
 were great ironfounders, and accumulated wealth.” 
 
 Opposite the White Horse Hotel, is a low one-storey stone 
 Building, occupied at present by William Milner, but formerly 
 used by the Primitive Methodists as a Sunday School. It was 
 then known by the name of “ St. Giles.” A Day School was 
 once kept in this room by Mr. Hodgshon. 
 
 A little beyond this point we come to a part of our village 
 formerly known as “ Ratten Row” or Rotten Row, a name of 
 very high antiquity. The meaning of the term, according to 
 the best authorities, is Muster Bow and this, so far as we are 
 concerned, explains its use in reference to Morley. “Musters 
 were formerly taken of the armour and weapons of the several 
 inhabitants of every Wapentake, and from such as could not 
 find sufficient pledges of their good a-bearing, their weapons 
 were taken and delivered toothers.” It is, therefore, more 
 than probable that the Wapentake, or inspection of arms for 
 this district, was held on this spot. 
 
 Opposite this row, and on the site of “Crowther Row” there 
 
181 
 
 was in 1790, a pond, with the very bucket of the ancient 
 Ducking Stool, still remaining. The stool had been removed 
 from Morley Hole to this spot, then known as “Flush Pond.” 
 
 Not far from Flush Pond, and where now stands the Com¬ 
 mercial Inn, (41) there was, until a few years back an old 
 alehouse, known as the “Boot and Shoe,” the date of its 
 erection, our historian refers to the reign of James the First— 
 if not before it. This house was a singular specimen of archi¬ 
 tecture, and was at one time the property of one William 
 Scatcherd, who lived in a small house at the rear of this 
 building. Many strange stories are told of the vagaries of this 
 eccentric personage,—who was for a long time a disciple of 
 Joanna Southcott, and by his actions, well qualified for the 
 position. Lower down in the Townend, there was a year or 
 two ago, an old building, once occupied as a beerhouse by 
 Isaac Rodgers or “Ike Rodgers,” as he was always called. 
 
 » This person was a noted character in his day. He was in the 
 habit of keeping a number of dogs, with which he used to 
 indulge in his favourite amusement of hunting. Frequently, 
 he might be seen in the early morning standing on the top 
 of Troy Hill, blowing a hom, to apprize the villagers that he 
 was about to take the field and should be glad of company. 
 In the course of a few minutes, numbers of the inhabitants 
 might be seen wending their way to this hill of Troy, some on 
 foot, others on the backs of horses and mules, but each and all 
 accompanied by a dog, of a breed in favour with its owner, 
 irrespective of its adaptability for field sports. When all were 
 assembled, they formed a motley group, and for the day, at 
 least, the idle persons of the village were separated from their 
 more industrious neighbours. 
 
 An Old Farm House in the Low Townend, which we pass 
 on our left, is worthy of mention. The house and farm have 
 been in the occupation of the same family for more than two 
 centuries, and a lease which we have before us, contains some 
 curious particulars with regard to the holding of land by our 
 
 z 
 
182 
 
 forefathers. This document bears date “the tenth day of 
 February, Annoquc Domini, 1695,” and is “between the Right 
 Honourable Lord Marquis of Halifax, Baron of Elland, of the 
 one part and Susan Brook, widow, and James Askwith, of 
 Moriey, Husbandman, of the other part.” After describing 
 the property, which consisted of a messuage or tenement with 
 the appurtenances, and eight acres of land, provision is made 
 to reserve to the Earl, the “woods, underwoods and trees, 
 mines of coal, lead-oar, and iron-stone and other mines and 
 all quarries of stone and slate.” The property is to be held 
 for twenty years, paving during that term the yearly rent of 
 Four Pounds and Twelve Shillings, at the feasts of Pentecost 
 and St. Martin, the Bishop, in winter. Then comes the 
 clause,—“The said Susan Brook and William Askwith shall' 
 and will do suit and service to the Court Baron of the said 
 Lord Marquess, to be holden for his Mannor of Moriey, when 
 and so often as the said Court, said be summoned to be there 
 held and kept. And also, they shall and will do suit to the 
 mills of the said Lord Marquess, situate in Howley Park, by 
 grinding all such corn, grain and malt, as they the said Susan 
 Brook and William Askwith shall from time to time use and 
 expend in or about the said leased premises or turn into oat¬ 
 meal shilling, and shall and will pay for the grinding thereof, 
 all such toll and mulcture, as is usually paid by other the 
 tenants and suitors to the said mills.” Provision is afterwards 
 made that the land shall receive proper cultivation, in terms 
 as follows;—“The said Susan Brook and William Askwith, 
 shall and will lay and spread upon every day’s work, with a 
 plough of the said leased premises which they shall plough, 
 grave or rive out, to be sown with corn or grain, twenty 
 sufficient horse-loads of well-burnt and unfaln lime or ten 
 sufficient wain-loads of manure, and shall not take above three 
 crops together, for once so liming and manuring the afore¬ 
 said. And shall also lay and spread upon the said premises 
 for the better husbandly thereof, all the hay, straw, fodder, 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
RODS MILL 1866 
 
183 
 
 compost, dung and ashes, which shall yearly come, grow, 
 begotten or bred upon the said premises. And they also, 
 shall and will for every acre of Ley-ground of the said premises 
 which shall be ploughed, graved or riven out to be sown with 
 com or grain in any of the three last years of the said term, 
 well and truly satisfie and pay unto the said Earl over and 
 above the yearly rent hereby reserved, the yearly Summ of 
 three pounds of like money. ” 
 
 Opposite this farm house is a small one storey Cottage, 
 built one hundred and sixty years ago, as the following docu¬ 
 ment relating to it, will prove :— 
 
 “ Wee, whos names are unto subscribed doo freely give our 
 consent without let or hinderance unto Pauli Ellis, of Morley, 
 to build, for himself his wife and children, one little Cottighouse 
 of six yards in lengt, and four yards in breadtg, upon a certain 
 parcell of Wast ground, Comanly called by the name of Lower 
 Sinderhill, which may be best for his own convenienc and the 
 least pregedis for his Neighbours, and hereunto wee have set to 
 our hands this sixth day of March, 1707. I do consent on the 
 behalf of the executors of the late Lord Marquess of Halifax, 
 
 C. Hodgson. Signed, —William Roebuck, Richard Turner, 
 Elizabeth Scatcherd, John Dawson, Martin Huntington.” 
 
 A short distance from this place, stands Rods Mills, (42) 
 the manufacturing premises ofMessrs. Watson, Rhodes and Co. 
 The first mill erected on this site was built near the close of 
 the last century by Mr. Isaac Crowther. In January, 1804, 
 it was destroyed by fire, with a large quantity of wool. 
 Another mill was built by Mr. Crowther, and this in April, 
 1824, shared the same fate as its predecessor. Subsequently 
 the present mill was erected, and has been at various times in 
 the several occupations of Messrs. Crowther and Hudson, 
 Webster, Watson and others. Mr. Crowther, who built the 
 mill and also Croft House, (43) for his residence, was a 
 native of Morley; he was born at a house on Banks Hill, in 
 1769. His father, Mr. Sami. Crowther, was a wool merchant 
 in Morley at that time, and his son Isaac was brought up to 
 
184 
 
 the cloth manufacturing business, in which he afterwards rose 
 to great eminence, his energy and rare business talents gaining 
 for him a first position as a manufacturer and merchant. As 
 an extensive employer of labour he contributed much to the 
 comfort and welfare of the inhabitants of Morley. He died at 
 “ a green old age,” the health of his physical frame being 
 sustained by judicious and temperate habits. A handsome 
 marble monument in the New Wesleyan Chapel, bears the 
 following testimony to his character and worth :— 
 
 Sacred to the memory of the late Isaac Crowther, Esq., of 
 Morley, forty-five years a member of the Methodist Society. 
 His Christian character was marked by simplicity, godly 
 sincerity, and pure desire for the spread of divine truth, and in 
 the enlargement of the Old (Wesleyan) Chapel he took a lively 
 interest. The sum of one thousand pounds, he generously 
 invested in the trustees for the time being, directing that the 
 interest arising from it should be divided twice in the year, 
 among the poorer members of the Methodist Society in his native 
 town. He was a liberal supporter of various charitable institu¬ 
 tions. His zeal on behalf of missions was evinced by offerings 
 rarely exceeded. He departed this life May 31st, 1850, aged 81 
 years.” 
 
 Retracing our steps as far as the Fountain Inn, and 
 proceeding up Field Lane, we reach the Hungerhill. With 
 reference to this name, Scateherd does not give us the origin 
 or meaning of it, but simply remarks : “ it is another evidence 
 of the ancient greatness of Morley. ” We shall therefore sub¬ 
 mit the following opinion thereon. This name is one of the 
 many landmarks of ancient superstition which have survived 
 after the legends connected with them have been long buried in 
 oblivion. Ancient mythology peopled every mountain with 
 deities—beneficent and attractive in Roman and Grecian lands, 
 where every tree and grove had its dryad, every brook its 
 nymph, every crag its sylph, terrible and dreaded when 
 shrouded in the dark mysteries of the Northern Giant-gods. 
 Wherever the Saxon tongue and race have penetrated, they 
 have left traces of their dark belief; the howling tempest was 
 
185 
 
 to the Saxon peasant, the whirling past of the Od’hingchase; 
 the low’ring cloud and the mountain mist were Thor’s impene¬ 
 trable garment; giants of immense power and mischievous 
 dwarfs were dwelling in the mountains and in the impenetrable 
 forest; thence the word “ Hun,” (i.e. Giant, Mysterious Being, 
 God of Thunder,) is almost universally associated with names 
 of mountains, under the different forms, of Unna, Hon, Hungr. 
 Hungerhill is thus equivalent to “ Hill of the Huns, ” and is a 
 term which is met with very frequently, especially in connexion 
 with places where in Druidic times sacrifices were offered, as 
 is sufficiently evidenced by remains of Druidic stones, ashes, 
 etc, found in many places connected with the name Hun. 
 There is little doubt that this eminence, known by the name 
 of Hungerhill must in olden times have been a sacred grove, 
 where the Druids performed their mystic rites, until the 
 Roman arms destroyed the organization of their religious 
 polity, but yet were unable to efface from the mind of the 
 people, the impression of dread and awe with which the 
 sacred place inspired them, so that the place would for ages be 
 still held as the abode of the Hun or God, until Christianity 
 dispelled these dark superstitions and bereft the spot of every 
 mystery connected therewith, leaving nothing but its sacred 
 name, “ Hill of Mystery,” or Hill of Hun. 
 
 Ebenezer Chapel, (44) a neat structure belonging to 
 the Primitive Methodists, is situate in the Hungerhill. This 
 denomination of Christians originated an interest in Morley in 
 1820. They met first, in the house of William Benn, Morley 
 Hole, then in a bam, belonging to Farmer Robinson. Subse¬ 
 quently, they built a chapel on Troy Road, which they 
 occupied for a few years, when a division took place amongst 
 them and the building was sold. After this time, for several 
 years, this body had no standing in Morley, but about the year 
 1830, they commenced divine service in a house in Low 
 Townend, and remained there till 1835, when the present 
 chapel was built, and opened on the 25th of September ; in 
 
180 
 
 the dedication of the place, sermons were preached by the 
 Rev. Hugh Bourne, one of the founders of the Primitive 
 Methodist Society. A debt of £300 still remains on the chapel, 
 which the people are at present endeavouring to remove, with 
 the intention to sell the chapel and build a larger. 
 
 Proceeding along the street, known as Hungerhill, we pass 
 on our right, the Morley, or as it is more frequently called 
 The Top Station, (45) of the Leeds, Bradford and Halifax 
 Railway. This line was opened eight years ago, and has 
 placed several important West-Riding towns within easy access 
 of Morley. 
 
 Continuing our walk along High Street we notice on our 
 left, Hembrigg Mill, (46) which calls for notice at our hands, 
 as the scene, three years ago, of a terrible catastrophe. On 
 the morning of June 27th, 1863, a boiler explosion, very 
 disastrous in its results, occurred at this place. Work was 
 commenced at six o’clock in the morning as usual, and 
 continued till half-past eight, when there was a stoppage of 
 half an hour for breakfast. Up to that time all appeared to 
 be perfectly safe. About a quarter to nine o’clock, the 
 inhabitants of the neighbourhood were alarmed by a terrific 
 explosion, which shook the place, and the report of which was 
 distinctly heard upwards of two miles away. The report was 
 followed by a perfect shower of debris, much of which con¬ 
 sisted of heavy pieces of iron and stone. The whole village 
 was alarmed, and many people in anxious solicitude for the 
 welfare of relatives employed there, rushed to the scene of 
 the disaster. The force of the explosion brought down a 
 building near the boiler, in the course of erection and the end 
 of the mill, burying the engine in the ruins. The terrific 
 nature of the explosion was plainly shown by the condition of 
 the remains of the boiler, the plates of which were torn and 
 twisted like so much card-board. Part of an iron joist 
 which had supported the perforated plates forming the drying 
 room over the boiler was carried on to the roof of a house in 
 
187 
 
 Odd-Fellows’ Buildings, upwards of seventy yards from the 
 scene of the explosion, smashing a strong rafter and descending 
 into a bed-room. The weight of this piece of iron was nearly 
 five hundred-weight. A fire-bar from the grate of the boiler, 
 alighted at Tingley Common, two miles from the mill. Nine 
 persons were killed and several injured. The following are 
 the names of the former:—David Thackrah, engine man, 
 aged 58; William Champion, labourer, aged 22; John Wilson, 
 mill-hand, aged 16; William Pilkington, aged 60; Nathaniel 
 Dickenson, warper, aged 40; Emma Carr, filler, aged 15; 
 John Varley, overlooker, aged 49; James Marshall, aged 13; 
 and Thomas Smith, mason, aged 50. On the Sunday follow¬ 
 ing the explosion, thousands of people from neighbouring towns 
 visited the place, and advantage was taken of this circumstance 
 to collect money for the relief of the families who had thus 
 suddenly been thrown into a condition of dependence on their 
 friends. Seventy pounds was contributed by the visitors on 
 that day, and this was increased by private subscription, to 
 the sum of £102 3s. Id., which was distributed to the 
 sufferers by a committee. An inquest held on the bodies by 
 Mr. C. Jewison, the coroner, resulted in a verdict of “Acci¬ 
 dental death.” 
 
 Passing New House, the residence of Mr. Emanuel Bradley, 
 and Quarry Mill, we reach on our left, Hembrigg Quarries 
 (47). These were opened, about one hundred and fifty years 
 ago, and since that time have supported a considerable number 
 of delvers. Our historian gives some curious particulars 
 respecting the finding of organic remains within these quarries. 
 He says, “ Sometime in the summer of 1824, in a solid block 
 of stone, twenty-five feet from the surface of the earth, there 
 were found eight or ten fossil nuts or acorns, They are ovate 
 and angular and there can be little doubt are the nuts of the 
 “ Carpinus Betulus ” (the large hornbeam). Some of these 
 nuts have assuredly not arrived at maturity when they fell 
 from the tree and were overwhelmed by that awful catastrophe 
 
188 
 
 whereby the * fountains of the great deep were broken up.’ I 
 am satisfied however, that in England, these kind of nuts are 
 indigenous;—that they grew to the full size and came to 
 maturity in what is now Yorkshire ; and possibly near the spot 
 where are now our quarries, before the last General Deluge, or 
 great Convulsion of Nature. I say the last General Deluge, 
 because it appears to me, that one deluge will not account for 
 appearances in various parts of the Eaith.” Our historian 
 does not explain what appearances he here alludes to, which 
 gave him the new idea of two separate and distinct Deluges. 
 With respect to the stone quarries, in the neighbourhood of 
 which we are speaking, we may remark, that the stone is 
 handsome, though of a rather perishable nature ; in some 
 parts of Morley the beds of stone have a singular formation, 
 as may be observed near the station of the London and North 
 Western Railway, in the Valley. The line here runs through 
 a deep cutting of solid rock and, close by the goods-shed, has 
 exposed some very interesting geological phenomena, in the 
 shape of a singularly contorted stratum of flagstone, warped 
 and twisted by some mighty “ throw ” or dislocation, in the 
 earlier days of mother earth. 
 
 Near the new Stone Quarries is Stump Cross, (48) standing 
 by the side of the line of road called the “ Street,” a Roman 
 military way. Astle, a writer on the subject of these stones or 
 crosses, says “Many of these crosses were anciently demol¬ 
 ished by the Christians, being, by them, supposed to have 
 been dedicated to idolatrous purposes, and their ancient names 
 were soon forgotten; which may be the reason why so many 
 broken stones are called ‘ Stump Crosses.’ ” Not far from this 
 Cross stands Cross Keys Inn, an old way-side hostelry, and 
 here one of our most flourishing benefit societies are held. In 
 Morley, as in most other places, 
 
 “ The poor man has his club, he comes and spends 
 His hoarded pittance with his choicest friends; 
 
 Nor this alone—a monthly dole he pays, 
 
 To be assisted when his health decays.” 
 

 
BRITANNIA MILL, MORLEY. 
 
189 
 
 Clubs and Friendly Societies have been established in Morley 
 for a considerable time, and have become so popular here, that 
 there are few working men who do not belong to some one or 
 other of them. Daniel de Foe, the author of Robinson Crusoe 
 was the first to suggest the formation of Clubs to provide 
 mutual assurance for relief of the members in seasons of 
 distress. The various Orders of Freemasons, Odd-fellows, 
 Foresters, Free Gardeners, Druids and similar Societies, 
 cannot in Morley, date their origin earlier than the year 1820. 
 From the table of Friendly Societies (see Appendix II,) it will 
 be seen that a very large portion of the working classes in 
 Morley are men of provident habits, who make provision in 
 case of sickness or casualties, so as to place themselves indepen¬ 
 dent of the workhouse or parish relief, the latter too frequently 
 doled out to applicants in a manner hurtful to their feelings. 
 
 Britannia Mill, (49) the property of Mr. James Ross, 
 stands on the line of the “Street” and is a substantial stone 
 erection, fitted with every convenience for the manufacture of 
 union cloths. A little beyond this place stands Cross Hall, 
 noticeable as being at one time, the property and residence of 
 Miss Bosanquet afterwards Mrs. Fletcher, whose name has 
 become a household word, in the homes of the Yorkshire 
 people especially. Cross Hall, in 1704, was in the possession 
 of Mr. Thomas Hardcastle, maltster, who sold the “messuage 
 tenement and maltkiln, lately builded, and one croft, to Sami. 
 Middlebrook for £103 3s. 6d.” In order to show the increase 
 in the value of property in Morley, at different periods, we 
 will give the following particulars respecting this estate:— 
 
 In 1743, Middlebrook sold to Jeremiah Scott 
 “ Cross Hall, one cottage, one maltkiln, one barn 
 one stable, one garden, one orchard, four acres of £ g. d. 
 
 land,” for . 300 0 0 
 
 Sold by Scott to Francis Bentley and from the 
 
 latter, to Wm. Wilcock in August 1766, for. 266 0 0 
 
 On the 27th of March 1769, Wilcock sold to 
 
 2 A 
 
190 
 
 Mary Bosanquet, “ Cross Hall, one barn, one cow 
 
 bouse, four stables, two maltkilns, three granaries, £ s, d, 
 
 one orchard, and one close of land ’’for . 650 0 0 
 
 In 1781, John William Fletcher and Mary his 
 wife (Miss B.) sold the estate to Henry Preston, 
 
 merchant, of Leeds, for....1470 0 0 
 
 May 22nd, 1882, Henry Preston sold the pro¬ 
 perty to the Rev. A, G. Kinsman for.1600 0 0 
 
 August 2nd, 1836, Mr. Kinsman sold it to 
 
 Benjamin Walker for .. 2000 0 0 
 
 In 1851, R. H. Ellis, Esq., the present mayor of Dewsbury, 
 purchased the estate from William Tipping, Esq,, who had 
 married the daughter of Mr. Walker. In 1853, Cross Hall 
 became the property of Mr. J. J. Mallinson, who with his son- 
 in-law Mr. Thomas Scott, occupy the premises. One or two 
 of the above named deserve a passing notice. Jeremiah Scott, 
 was a gentleman of fortune, if one may judge from the memo¬ 
 rial of his death—a handsome mural monument in Batley 
 Church, Mary Bosanquet was a lady of distinguished piety. 
 During her residence at Cross Hall, she applied an ample 
 fortune to the relief of the friendless ; collecting together and 
 supporting under her own roof, an extensive family, composed 
 of the afflicted, the indigent and the helpless, but chiefly con¬ 
 sisting of orphan children. On the 12th of Sept. 1781, Miss 
 Bosanquet was married at Batley, to the Rev. John Fletcher, 
 vicar of Madeley. Mr Henry Preston, who purchased the 
 Hall from Mr. Fletcher, was a merchant at Leeds, and ran 
 the first close carriage in this neighbourhood. 
 
 A little beyond Cross Hall, on the left, are two fields, 
 marked out as the site for the reservoirs for the contemplated 
 water-works, and beyond these are the coal mines, known as 
 Victoria Colliery, the property of Messrs. J. and J. A. Haigh. 
 Large quantities of cannel and other coal are daily raised to 
 the surface of these pits, and sent away by rail and other 
 conveyance to various parts of England. 
 
SPRINGFIELD HOUSE, 
 MORLEY. 
 
191 
 
 Coming down Bruntcliffe Lane, we reach the railway arch 
 which crosses the road ; adjoining this, is a square enclosure, 
 forming an ancient burial-ground, belonging to the Society of 
 Friends. The ground is planted over with trees, and is in a 
 peculiarly isolated situation. It was conveyed to the Quakers 
 by William Midgley, William Cundall, and John Sutton, 
 clothiers, all of Morley, by deeds of lease and release, dated 
 September 8th and 9th, 1689.” 
 
 Passing the Dartmouth Arms, and walking along Victoria 
 Road some distance, we reach Springfield House, (50) on 
 the left, a handsome and substantial residence, built for 
 Mr. John Webster. The house with the extensive pleasure 
 grounds occupy a commanding position, overlooking the town 
 of Leeds, with numerous adjacent villages. Mr. Webster at 
 the time he lived here, occupied Rods Mill, and employed a 
 considerable number of operatives. He took great interest in 
 public matters, did much good without ostentation, had a 
 warm attachment to his native village, and was pleased to see 
 its progress and improvement. He possessed a thorough 
 knowledge of business, devoted himself most assiduously to it, 
 and was recompensed by a considerable fortune. Springfield 
 House passed, in 1862, into the possession of Mr. Joseph 
 Smith, who erected a large mill at the rear of the house. In 
 1864, the estate was bought by Messrs. Dixon, Nicholls and 
 Company, who carry on an extensive business as manufacturers 
 of union cloths. 
 
 The Lodge, (52) which we reach when we arrive at the 
 end of Victoria Road, is occupied by Mrs. Thomas Webster, a 
 lady, of whom we are happy to say, that kindness to others, 
 sympathy with the sorrowing, and a large-hearted liberality to 
 the poor, are the prominent features of her character. 
 
 Having now reached the starting point of our rambles, our 
 task is done, and in taking leave of our readers, we may be 
 permitted to say, that we trust, our cursory and very imperfect 
 description of Morley may afford some pleasure to them, or at 
 
192 
 
 any rate, suffice until an abler hand shall do full justice to its 
 history. Some disappointment will no doubt be felt, that 
 descriptions are not given of interesting places in the neigh¬ 
 bourhood, such as Howley Hall, Topcliffe, etc., but our 
 apology is that, in the limits we prescribed to this work, we 
 have not been enabled to give more than a passing glance at 
 places within the village, and to have written of the vicinity, 
 would have necessarily abridged even these short notices. 
 
 “ What is writ, is writ, would it were worthier.” 
 
 Our aim has been to interest the companions of our rambles 
 in our conversations on the pure, the good, the beautiful, the 
 curious and the useful in our village, and to introduce them to 
 the simple nooks and corners with which Morley abounds, to 
 the spots of green and pleasant haunts of bygone time, to a 
 retrospect of the many changes which our village has under¬ 
 gone, and from the historical and biographical associations we _ 
 have endeavoured to throw around all these, we trust that our 
 labours may have a pleasing and profitable effect upon our 
 readers, and that the young especially may find it a profitable 
 task, to trace out and imitate the lives of those of our village 
 worthies who have triumphed over difficulties and raised them¬ 
 selves to eminence and honour. Having made with us the 
 circuit of the village, we shall be repaid if we have succeeded 
 in arousing your interest and induced you to ramble over those 
 charmed spots again and again. We are never weary of 
 rambling amongst them, nor do their associations ever become 
 barren or feeble. We have endeavoured to lead our fellow 
 ramblers over these time-consecrated places, scenes and sub¬ 
 jects, and though we do not endorse all the past, much less put 
 it in competition with the future, we should not like it to be 
 forgotten, and hence, we have done our best to embody its 
 reminiscences, and now leave our efforts in the hands of the 
 present generation, either to profit by them, or improve upon 
 them as they choose. 
 
103 
 
 APPENDIX I. 
 
 “ A Catalogue of the Names of Such persons web- has Served 
 the office of the Churchwarden in the Township of Morley from 
 the Year 1700 to 1800. 
 
 1700 Joseph Westerman 
 
 1701 Thomas Hardcastle 
 
 1702 John Atkinson 
 
 1703 William Westerman 
 
 1704 Mr. Kobert Ray 
 
 1705 Thomas Hemsworth 
 
 1706 Stephen Gregson 
 
 1707 Edward Richardson 
 
 1708 Samuel Greatheed 
 
 1709 Thomas Morris 
 
 1710 Joseph Dixon, junior 
 
 1711 William Sykes 
 
 1712 Mr. Samuel Scatcherd 
 
 1713 John Revell 
 
 1714 Mr. John Dawson 
 
 1715 Jonathan Pease 
 
 1716 William Clark 
 
 1717 Joshua Reyner 
 
 1718 Samuel Webster 
 
 1719 Benjamin Cromack 
 
 1720 Stephen Cuttill 
 
 1721 Jonathan Fothergill 
 
 1722 John Ellis Smith 
 
 1723 Joseph Webster 
 
 1724 Theophilus Turner 
 
 1725 Joseph Asquith 
 
 1726 Nathaniel Slack 
 
 1727 James Stead 
 
 1728 Jeremy Shepley 
 
 1729 Joseph Hall 
 
 1730 Eliazer Atkinson 
 
 1731 Thomas Spheight 
 
 1732 Jonathan Holms 
 
 1733 Joseph Asquith 
 
 1734 John Brook, clothier 
 
 1735 John Brook 
 
 1736 Richard Clarkson 
 
 1737 Samuel Ellis 
 
 1738 Timothy Clark 
 
 1739 Benjamin Brook 
 
 1740 William Banks 
 
 1741 William Speight 
 
 1742 William Alhoy 
 
 1743 Isaac Brown 
 
 1744 John Ellis Cooper 
 
 1745 Samuel Reyner 
 
 1746 Elias Holt 
 
 1747 Samuel Birlhy 
 
 1748 Joseph Reyner 
 
 1749 John Reyner 
 
 1750 Jonathan Kirk 
 
 1751 William Lister 
 
 1752 William Midgley 
 
 1753 John Turner 
 
 1754 John Turner 
 
 1755 Francis Moor 
 
 1756 John Bywater 
 
 1757 Samuel Fozard 
 
 1758 William Dixon 
 
 1759 John Sheard 
 
 1760 John Sheard 
 
 1761 Mr. Richard Prince 
 
 1762 Thomas Kitson 
 
 1763 Thomas Kitson 
 
 1764 Jonathan Whitley 
 
 1765 Josiah Butterworth 
 
 1766 Israel Hey 
 
 1767 Robert Jackson 
 
 1768 Samuel Hall 
 
 1769 William Reyner 
 
 1770 John Wormald 
 
 1771 John Wormald 
 
 1772 Benjamin Cromack 
 
 1773 Samuel Webster 
 
 1774 Jonathan Fothergill 
 
 1775 William Milner 
 
 1776 Samuel Clark 
 
 ! 1777 John Leathley 
 
194 
 
 1778 William Cromack 
 
 1779 John Webster 
 
 1780 John Garnet 
 
 1781 Samuel Ellis 
 
 1782 Samuel Rhodes 
 
 1783 Joseph Waring 
 
 1784 William Marshal 
 
 1785 John Broadbent 
 
 1786 John Broadbent 
 
 1787 David Terry 
 
 1788 John Whitley 
 
 1789 William Hands 
 
 1790 John Chapel 
 
 1791 Thomas Dixon 
 
 1792 William Clark 
 
 1793 Thomas Roberts 
 
 1794 Samuel Blackburn 
 
 1795 Samuel Gant 
 
 1796 John Crowther 
 
 1797 John Crowther 
 
 1798 John Crowther 
 
 1799 John Webster 
 
 Other Catalogues follow in the “ Town’s Minute Book, 1749,” 
 of persons who served the offices of Constable, Overseers, Sur¬ 
 veyors of the Highways and Collectors of Taxes, but as the same 
 names are found in all these, we do not print them. 
 
 APPENDIX II. 
 
 TABLE OF BENEFIT SOCIETIES, ETC., IN MOBLEY. 
 
 Estblsd. 
 
 Name. 
 
 Order. 
 
 Where held. 
 
 No. of 
 Mems. 
 
 1825 
 
 Lodge of Integrity 
 No. 380. 
 
 Freemasons. 
 
 Fountain Inn. 
 
 _ 
 
 1823 
 
 New Industry Lo. 
 No. 81. 
 
 G.U.O. of Odd- 
 Fellows. 
 
 Cross Keys Inn. 
 
 194 
 
 1833 
 
 Court Fidelity No. 
 216. 
 
 A.O. of Foresters 
 
 Dartmouth Arms. 
 
 60 
 
 1836 
 
 Nelson Lod., No. 1 
 
 - - 
 
 Nelson Arms. 
 
 80 
 
 1843 
 
 Village Lodge 
 
 - - 
 
 Royal Hotel. 
 
 70 
 
 1844 
 
 Rechabite Society 
 
 - - 
 
 New School. 
 
 33 
 
 1845 
 
 Sweet WilliamLo. 
 No. 410* 
 
 D.U. Free Gar¬ 
 dener’s. 
 
 Dartmouth Arms. 
 
 150 
 
 1856 
 
 Olive Lod., No 194 
 
 A.O. of Druids. 
 
 Commercial Inn. 
 
 100 
 
 1852 
 
 Sir Robert Peel 
 Lodge, No. 1. 
 
 M.O. of Fellow 
 Citizens. 
 
 Do do 
 
 80 
 
 1856 
 
 Sir Robert Peel 
 Lodge, No. 2. 
 
 M.O. of Fellow 
 Citizens. 
 
 Nelson’s Arms. 
 
 40 
 
 _ 
 
 Brief. 
 
 - - 
 
 Prospect Hotel. 
 
 90 
 
 1865 
 
 Court 411. 
 
 B. U. of Odd-Fels 
 
 Do do 
 
 21 
 
 1865 
 
 Court 361. 
 
 — — 
 
 Valley Hotel. 
 
 33 
 
 1865 
 
 Poor Man’sFriend 
 Lodge. 
 
 _ _ 
 
 Fountain Inn. 
 
 40 
 
 1861 
 
 Engineer’s Asso¬ 
 ciation. 
 
 _ _ 
 
 _ _ 
 
 18 
 
 — 
 
 Rose of Sharon 
 Lodge 
 
 A.O. of Foresters 
 
 Cross Keys Inn. 
 
 40 
 
 — 
 
 Inkerman Lodge, 
 91. 
 
 _ — 
 
 White Horse. 
 
 40 
 

 jp yWsrX®RtIlf 
 
 Dartnvxilh . ftrrw 
 
195 
 
 LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS. 
 
 The Right Honourable the Earl de Grey and Ripon, Her 
 Majesty’s Secretary of State for India, Studley Royal, Ripon. 
 The Right Honourable the Earl of Dartmouth, Grosvenor 
 Square, London. (4 cop.) 
 
 Lord Viscount Milton, M.P., F.R.G.S., F.G.S., F.R.E.S. (2 cop.) 
 George S. Beecroft, Esq., M.P., Leeds. 
 
 Edward Baines, Esq., M.P., Headingley Lodge, Leeds. 
 
 The Worshipful the Mayor of Leeds, Henry Oxley, Esq. 
 
 The Worshipful the Mayor of Pontefract, B. Arundel, Esq. 
 The Worshipful the Mayor of Dewsbury, R. H. Ellis, Esq. 
 
 The Ex-Mayor of Leeds, Obadiah Nussey, Esq., J.P. 
 
 Fred. W. Bedford, Esq., L.L.D., D.C.L., M.A., Heriot’s Hospital, 
 Edinburgh. 
 
 Edward Hailstone, Esq., F.S.A., F.G.S., Horton Hall, Bradford. 
 John Reed Appleton, Esq., F.S.A., Lond. and Edin., Western 
 Hill, Durham. 
 
 John Richard Walbran, Esq., F.S.A., Fall Croft, Ripon. 
 
 William Boyne, Esq., F.S.A., Headingley. 
 
 W. 0. Priestley, Esq., M.D., F.C.R.P.. M.R.C.S., etc., etc., 17, 
 Hertford Street, Mayfair, London. 
 
 Jos. A. Horner, Esq., F.R.S.L., F.S.S., West Barnet Lodge,Herts, 
 Edward A. Leatham, Esq., M.A., Whitley Hall, Huddersfield. 
 Titus Salt, Esq., J.P., Methley Park. (4 cop.) 
 
 William Ewart Gott, Esq., J.P., Wyther. 
 
 Darnton Lupton, Esq., J.P., Leeds. (2 cop.) 
 
 Leeds Library. 
 
 MORLEY. 
 
 Asquith, Joshua (4 copies) 
 
 Asquith, E. W. (2 do.) 
 
 Asquith, William 
 
 Asquith, James 
 
 Asquith, Joshua 
 
 Asquith, Charlotte (2 do.) 
 
 Asquith, James D. 
 
 Auty, Matthew 
 Appleyard, Fred. 
 
 Baines, William (4 copies) 
 Binks, William 
 Bradley, Emmanuel (3 do.) 
 Bradley, William, sen. (3 do.) 
 
196 
 
 MORLEY— continued. 
 
 Bradley, Wm, jun. (3 copies.) 
 Bradley, Humphrey (3 do.) 
 Bradley, Luke 
 
 Bradley, David (2 do.) 
 
 Brooksbank, W. 
 
 Brooksbank, J. 
 
 Bradley, James 
 Batley, Richard 
 Barker, James 
 Barron, Thomas 
 Brown, David 
 Brown, Edwin 
 Brown, Reuben 
 Binks, John 
 Burden, J. N. L. 
 
 Barron, Robert (2 do.) 
 
 Bradley, Josh. 
 
 Benn, J. 
 
 Brook, Samuel 
 Brown,John 
 Botterill, Thomas 
 Bedford, Thomas 
 Barron, Reuben 
 Binks, Samuel (2 do.) 
 
 Bentley, Miss 
 Brooksbank, Geo. 
 
 Brook George 
 
 Cowburn, Andrew (2 do.) 
 
 Calvert, Joseph (2 do.) 
 
 Crowther, Samuel 
 Clough, James 
 Chapman, Andrew 
 Clegg, James 
 Clough, George 
 Crowther, George 
 Cook, James 
 
 Dixon, Thos. Danl. (4 do.) 
 
 Dodgshun, Jos. (6 do.) 
 
 Dodgshun, William (3 do.) 
 
 Dixon, Charles 
 Dixon, James 
 Dodgshun, Enoch 
 Driver, John (2 do.) 
 
 Day, Miss 
 
 Dodgshun, Mrs. Joseph 
 Dixon, Joseph 
 
 Ellis, William (12 copies.) 
 Earnshaw, Aaron 
 Ellis, Edwin 
 
 Fletcher, Benjamin (2 do.) 
 Fisher, John 
 Furness, David 
 Fox, John 
 Fletcher, Joseph 
 
 Gaunt, Henry 
 Gath, George 
 
 Gisburn, William (2 do.) 
 
 Gledhill, William 
 Garnett, George, jun. 
 Garnett, John 
 Garnett, Robert 
 
 Hinchliffe, John (2 do.) 
 
 Houseman, George (2 do.) 
 
 Hinchliffe, Geo. jun. (2 do.) 
 
 Hirst, Joseph (2 do.) 
 
 Hirst, Benjamin (3 do.) 
 
 Holton, William (2 do.) 
 
 Hill, John 
 Hirst, Edwin 
 Hirst, S. T. 
 
 Hazlewood, Joseph 
 Hartley, John 
 Hartley, Joseph 
 Hirst, Samuel, sen. 
 
 Hirst, Samuel, jun. 
 Ilardcastle, Joseph 
 Horsfall, Thomas 
 Hirst, John 
 Hinchliffe, G., sen. 
 
 Hinchliffe, Edwin 
 Holstead, Henry 
 Hirst, Mrs. David 
 
 Ingleson, J. H. 
 
 Illingworth, Joseph 
 
 James, Rev. Jno. 
 
 Jackson, Edward (2 do.) 
 Jackson, J. J. 
 
 Jagger, George 
 Jowett, George 
 
197 
 
 MORLEY — continued. 
 
 King, W. S., M.D. (3 copies.) 
 
 King, William 
 
 Kirkby, Joseph 
 Kirkby, Edmund 
 
 (2 do.) 
 
 Lassey, John 
 
 Lassey, George 
 Longley, Daniel 
 
 (2 do.) 
 
 Marshall, Albert 
 Marshall, Oliver 
 Marshall, William 
 Marshall, Thomas 
 
 (2 do.) 
 
 Mallinson, J. J. 
 Mitchell, William 
 Mitchell, James 
 Mitchell, Mrs. Samuel 
 Mechanics’ Institute 
 
 (2 do.) 
 
 Nichol, Rev. W. S. 
 Nicholls, James, jun. 
 Nicholls, Miss 
 Newsome, John 
 
 (6 do.) 
 
 Oliver, Thomas 
 
 Oakes, William 
 
 
 Parkinson, Rev. A. M. 
 
 
 Pritchards, Rev. Isaiah 
 
 Peel, Benjamin 
 
 Peel, B. L. 
 
 (2 do.) 
 
 Peel, Solomon 
 
 Peel, John 
 
 Peel, William 
 
 Preston, Thomas 
 Popplewell, Edwin 
 Popplewell, George 
 
 (2 do.) 
 
 Rhodes, Joseph 
 Rhodes, Josiah 
 Rhodes, W. S. 
 Rhodes, J oseph R. 
 Robinson, James 
 Rayner, Samuel, jun 
 Rayner, Samuel, sen 
 Rayner, John 
 Ross, James 
 Rowe, Rev. D. W. 
 
 Rogers, William 
 
 Smeeth, Rev. James 
 
 
 Scott, Alexander 
 
 (6 copies) 
 
 Scott, Thomas 
 
 Scott, Miss 
 Summersgill, Joseph 
 Sharp, James 
 Scatcherd, Joshua 
 Smith, Mrs. Matthew 
 
 (3 do.) 
 
 Scholes, David 
 
 Stead, John 
 Stockwell, Edward 
 
 (6 do.) 
 
 Stead, Samuel 
 
 Sharp, Joseph 
 
 Smith, W., sen. 
 Stapleton, John 
 Sharp, James, jun. 
 Scarth, Joseph 
 
 (20 do.) 
 
 Scatcherd, Samuel 
 
 (2 do.) 
 
 Schofield, Samuel 
 
 (2 do.) 
 
 Schofield, Joseph 
 Scarth, Enoch 
 
 Sykes, Matthew 
 Swainson, Thomas 
 Sykes, Alfred 
 
 Sykes, Thomas 
 Sissons, Henry 
 
 (2 do.) 
 
 Sykes, George 
 
 Scarth, W. G. 
 
 Sheard, James 
 Sheard, Benjamin 
 Scarth, Henry 
 
 (2 do.) 
 
 Thackray, David 
 
 (2 do.) 
 
 Thackray, Samuel 
 
 (2 do.) 
 
 Tetley, Josh. 
 
 Taylor, Joseph 
 
 (2 do.) 
 
 Terry, George 
 
 Terry, John 
 
 Teale, John 
 
 (2 do.) 
 
 Webster, Joseph 
 
 (2 do.) 
 
 Webster, Mrs. Thomas 
 
 Webster, Richard 
 
 Wilkinson, Job 
 
 Wilson, John 
 
 Wheelwright, Mrs. 
 
 2 B 
 
 (2 do.) 
 
 (4 do.) 
 
198 
 
 MORLEY— continued. 
 
 Watson, Thomas (2 copies) 
 Ward, David 
 
 Wade, George (6 do.) 
 
 WorraU, B. H. 
 
 Watson, Orlando (3 do.) 
 
 Welch, G. W. 
 
 Wheelwright, Miss (2 copies) 
 Webster, Joseph 
 Ward Joseph 
 Wilkinson, William 
 Waring, John C. 
 
 OTHER PLACES. 
 
 Ackroyd, Thomas, Coal Proprietor, Birkenshaw 3 copies 
 
 Allen, Hammond, Banker, Leeds 
 
 Barnes, Rev., Fred, B.A., Oxton Road, Birkenhead 
 Banks, William Stott, Solicitor, Wakefield 
 Booth, John, Agent, Leeds 
 Binks, John, Corn Factor, Wakefield 
 
 Blake, Barnett, Lecturer, Leeds 2 do 
 
 Beaumont, Miss, Gildersome 
 
 Bradford, John, Worsted Merchant, Manchester 
 
 Burden, James, Schoolmaster, Wakefield 
 
 Booth, Miss Sophia, Gildersome 
 
 Blackburn, John, Dyer, Carlinghow, Batley 
 
 Barrowclough, Chas., West Town, Dewsbury 
 
 Clark, J. C., M.D., Gildersome Street 10 do 
 
 Carr, Edwin, 5, East Parade, Leeds 
 
 Calvert, John, Tailor, Leeds 2 do 
 
 Crowther, William, Chemical Manufacturer, Gomersal 2 do 
 
 Craven, Joseph, Birkenhead 
 
 Clough, Jeremiah, Corn Miller, Holbeck 
 
 Connon, Misses, Birstal 
 
 Colbeck, John, Schoolmaster, Knareshorough 
 Cousins, J. J., Banker, Leeds 
 
 Clough, Thomas, Cloth Manufacturer, Gildersome Street 
 Clough, John, Overlooker, Raven’s Wharf 
 Clough, W. O., Merchant, Huddersfield 
 Clay, Isaac, Junior, Chidswell Lane, near Dewsbury 
 
 Dixon, Mrs. Nathaniel, Drighlington 4 do 
 
 Dodgshun, James, Wool Merchant, Leeds 
 
 Dodgshun, James, General Merchant, Melbourne 
 
 Dixon, John, Secretary, General Infirmary, Leeds 
 
 Dale, Thomas, Builder, Manchester 
 
 Dove, Mrs. William, Ripponden College, near Brighouse 
 
 Dickenson, George, Low Mill, Wortley, near Leeds 
 
 Dixon, James, Overlooker, Gildersome 2 do 
 
 Dawson, Samuel, Printer, Market Place, Dewsbury 2 do 
 
 Dawson, T. C., Gentleman, Halifax 
 
 Dodgshun, Isaac, Wool Merchant, Leeds 
 
199 
 
 Dixon, John Henry, Deputy Clerk of the Peace, Wakefield 
 Dixon, William, Dyer, Low Wortley 
 Drake, Allen, Overlooker, Leeds 
 
 Ellis, James, Cashier, Leeds 2 copies 
 
 Ellis, James, St. Bernard 
 
 Ellis, James, Cloth Finisher, Leeds 
 
 Fox, Rev. Joseph, Independent Minister, Manchester 
 Federer, Carl, Professor of Languages, Bradford 
 Firth, Thomas, Silver Letter Maker, Huddersfield 
 Firth, John, Agent, Bradford Road, Dewsbury 
 Firth, Miss, Huddersfield 
 Firth, Miss Elizabeth, Huddersfield 
 Fowler, Willingham, Eldon Place, Leeds 
 
 Grist, J. G. Waste Merchant, West Parade, Huddersfield 
 
 Griffiths, Miss Adele C., Wilton Lodge, Taunton, Somerset 
 
 Gibbs, William, General Dealer, 4, Briggate, Leeds 
 
 Gaunt, Councillor E., Leeds 
 
 Greaves, John Olclroyd, Land Surveyor, Wakefield 
 
 Glover, Joseph, Dyer, Leeds 2 do 
 
 Gouldthorp, George, Bookkeeper, Leeds 
 
 Gledhill, George, Cloth Manufacturer, Chur wo 11 2 do 
 
 Greaves, Edward, Cloth Merchant, Leeds 
 
 Gissing, T. W.. Chemist, Wakefield 
 
 Gisburn, John Hare, Surgeon, Hunslet 
 
 Gaunt, Joseph, Low Wortley 
 
 Gross, Joseph, Jeweller, Leeds 
 
 Hole, James, Author of “Light, move Light,” Leeds 
 
 Hargreave, Jabez, Cotton Spinner, Wortley 
 
 Heaton, Thomas C., Surveyor, Leeds 2 do 
 
 Haigh, Jonathan, Cotton Spinner, Colne Bridge 
 Hoyle, John, Colne Bridge 
 
 Hinchcliff, Daniel, Manufacturer, Low Wortley 3 do 
 
 Heavisides, Henry, Printer, Stockton 
 
 Hinchliffe, Councillor, Leeds 6 do 
 
 Hinchliffe, John, Cloth Manufacturer 4 do 
 
 Hemsley, John, Agent, Leeds 2 do 
 
 Howden, George, B., Leeds 2 do 
 
 Hopkins, Thomas, Malton 3 do 
 
 Hopkins, Mrs. William, Malton 
 
 Helliwell, John, Cloth Manufacturer, Gildersome 
 
 Hirst, George Professor of Music, Birkenhead 2 do 
 
 Hardwick, William, Cloth Finisher, Leeds 
 
 Hardwick, James, Cloth Finisher, Leeds 
 
 Holt, Benjamin, Cloth Merchant, Leeds 
 
 Hepper, J- H., Auctioneer. East Parade, Leeds 
 
 Hepper, J., Auctioneer, East Parade, Leeds 
 
200 
 
 Hartley, Councillor John, Clifton House, Halton near Leeds 
 Haslani, Rev. John, Baptist Minister, Gildersome 
 Hinclicliff, Joseph, Cloth Agent, Albion Street, Leeds 
 Hinchliffe, James, Queen’s Mill, Armley Road, Leeds 
 Holliday, Oliver, Post Office, Gildersome Street 
 Harris, Rev. Richard, The Cemetery House, Woodhouse 
 
 Iukersall, J. G., Professor of Music, Leeds 
 Ingham, Constantine, Upholsterer, Leeds 
 Ineson, Charles, Printer, Carlinghow, Batley 
 
 Jessen, Henry, Merchant, Christiana, Norway 
 Jackson, Rev. William, Leeds 
 
 Kitching, Broster, Sharebroker, Albion Street, Leeds 
 Kirk, John, Surveyor, Brecon 
 
 Kennedy, George, Royal Exchange Buildings, Glasgow 
 
 Lumley, James, C.E., 25, Darley Street, Bradford 
 
 Ladley, Joseph, Cloth Manufacturer, Leeds 
 
 Ladley, H. N., Cloth Manufacturer, Leeds 
 
 Laycock, John, Cloth Miller, Leeds 
 
 Laycock, Peter, Cloth Miller, Leeds 
 
 Lobley, William, New Wortley 
 
 Lumb, William, Cloth Finisher, Leeds 
 
 Loft, George Martin, Leeds 
 
 Longley, Joseph C. Lane side, Churwell 
 
 Morris, Rev. Professor, College, Brecon 
 Morris, Thomas Keyworth, College, Brecon 
 Morris, Mrs., College, Brecon 
 Morris, Miss Annie, Ridgeway, Bristol 
 Marshall, W. H., Sharebroker, Albion Street, Leeds 
 Mellor, Richard, Music Seller, Huddersfield 
 Milner, Dr. W. R., The Prison, Wakefield 
 Mitchell, Joseph, Cloth Merchant, Leeds 
 Megson, David, 7, Belle Vue, Edinburgh 
 Moore, Henry, Manchester 
 Marsden, John, Cotton Spinner, Huddersfield 
 McCarthy, D. W., Oil Merchant, Leeds 
 Mellor, Joe, (Huth and Fischer) Huddersfield 
 Martin, Henry Vipont, Worsted Spinner, Leeds 
 Mechanics’ Institute, South Parade, Leeds 
 Myers, Mrs. Grace, Matron, Great Horton 
 
 Naylor, Benjamin, Woollen Merchant, Leeds 
 Nicholson, Dr., Surgeon, Beeston Hill 
 Newton, A., Churwell 
 Nussey, Thomas, Merchant, Leeds 
 
 6 copies 
 
 6 do 
 
 3 do 
 
 2 do 
 2 do 
 
 2 do 
 
 2 do 
 
201 
 
 Naylor, John, Dyer, Littletown 4 copies 
 
 Nussey, S. L. Drysalter, School Close, Leeds 
 Newsome, William Henry Lister, Printer, Batley 
 
 Orgar, Rev. William, Independent Minister, Stubbin Elsecar 
 Oakes, George, Bookkeeper, Ossett 4 do 
 
 Pape, Madlle. M. E. J., Pays-Bas, La Haye 
 Priestley, Joseph, Camp Road, Leeds 
 Parker, Joseph, junior, Batley 
 Parker, Matthew, Batley 
 Parker, Alfred, Batley 
 Parker, Benjamin P., Batley 
 Pickersgill, Samuel, Gomersal 
 Phillips, Charles T., Rag Merchant, Ossett 
 Pearson, Miss, Leeds 
 
 Reeve, Rev. Jonah, Independent Minister, Stowmarket 
 Rhodes, Samuel Crowther, Cloth Manufacturer, LeedB 
 Rawnsley, Albert, Leeds 
 Richardson, George, Agent, Gildersome 
 Robinson, Thomas, Cloth Drawer, Holbeck 
 Rhodes, Thomas, Bookkeeper, New Wortley 
 Render, Dan, Bookkeeper, Wakefield 
 Rhodes, Charles, Student, Airedale College 
 Rayner, John, Manufacturer, Alva, Scotland 
 Robinson, J. W., Cement Dealer, 181, Park Lane, Leeds 
 Rhodes, John, Potternewton House, near Leeds 
 Rhodes, Manoah, Goldsmith, Bradford 
 Robinson, James, Schoolmaster, Neepsend, Sheffield 
 Roberts, William, Painter, Farnley 
 
 Smith, Henry Stooks, Headingley 
 Smith, Alfred, Cloth Manufacturer, Leeds 3 do 
 
 Smith, Fred, Trafalgar Street, Bradford 
 Smeeth, Thomas S., Bilston, Staffordshire 
 Saynor, J., Painter, Mirfield 
 
 Smith, Jeremiah, Cloth Manufacturer, Leeds 3 do 
 
 Schofield, Ammon, Station Master, Buxton 
 
 Stockdill, George, 117, Queen’s Crescent, Havcrstock Hill, London 
 
 Stockdill, Richard, 14, Miles, St. Lambeth, London 
 
 Suddick. J., Woodhouse Lane, Leeds 
 
 Smith, William, junior, Bookkeeper, ChurweU 
 
 Sykes, Henry M., Roundhay 2 do 
 
 Storey, John, Lithographer, 71, Albion Street, Leeds 
 
 Sykes, Joseph, Architect, West Ardsley 
 
 Smith, Swire, Manufacturer, Keighley 
 
 Stocker, G. L., Rag Merchant, Batley 
 
 Stanhope William, Overlooker, St. Bernard 
 
 2 do 
 
 2 do 
 
 3 do 
 
202 
 
 Stead, Samuel, Gentleman, Cowick 
 Simpson, Edward, Bookeeper, Tingley 
 Scott, Mark, Oil Merchant, Selby 
 Slater, Philemon, Manufacturer, Yeadon 
 Stansfield, William, Shoemaker, Beeston 
 Smith, Charles, Cloth Manufacturer, Leeds 
 Scott, Joseph, North America 
 Swann, J. W., Gaoler, Leeds 
 Stansfield, Samuel, Armley 
 
 Taylor, George, Grocer, New Street, Batley 
 Taylor, Rev. R. V., B.A., Wortley 
 Theaker, Samuel, Stanley 
 Taylor, Joshua, Woollen Manufacturer, Batley 
 Thornton, Charles Bateson, Agent, Beeston 
 Terry, Benjamin, Solicitor, Idle 
 Taplin, H. B., Insurance Manager, Leeds 
 Thackray, Robert, Bookkeeper, Drighlington 
 Todd, Joseph Longley, Boot Maker, Pudsey 
 Thompson, James, Park Place, Leeds 
 Thompson, A. H., Architect, South Parade, Le 
 
 Verschoor, R. G. J., Waagen-straat, Arnhem, Holland 
 
 Wade, Joseph, Woollen Manufacturer, Wakefield 6 do 
 
 Wade,Walter, Woollen Manufacturer, Wakefield 6 do 
 
 Wade, Adam, Woollen Manufacturer, St. Bernard 4 do 
 
 Wilson, Benjamin, Schoolmaster, Bristol 
 
 Whiteley, Jeremiah, Rag Merchant, Chidswell 4 do 
 
 Whitehead i John, Cloth Manufacturer, Leeds 3 do 
 
 Wordsworth, William, jun., Blackgates 2 do 
 
 Whitehead, John, Dyer, Churwell 3 do 
 
 Walker, Joshua, Bank, Dewsbury 
 Worsnop, Frederick, Bookkeeper, Leeds 
 Willis, Rev. Thomas, Pontefract 
 Wonnacott, Rev. James, Hertford 
 
 Webster, Joseph, Cloth Finisher, Leeds 2 do 
 
 Walker, Miss Helena, Vocalist, Leeds 
 
 Webster, Joseph, Gildersome 3 do 
 
 Webster, Samuel, Gildersome 
 Whitley, John, St. Bernard 
 
 Webster, Henry, Gentleman, Queen’s Parade, Harrogate 2 do 
 Wardell, James, Deputy Town Clerk, Leeds 
 
 Waite, Benjamin, Manufacturer, Farsley 2 do 
 
 2 copies 
 2 do 
 
 2 do 
 
 ieds 
 
 Subscribers, 433.- Copies, 658. 
 
BY THE SAME AUTHOR, 
 
 {pmttai toitlr mtr glpeit-Stoxk anb topd-pij, 
 
 OR A 
 
 THREE WEEKS’ TRIP TO FRANCE AND SWITZERLAND. 
 
 OPINIONS OF THE PRESS. 
 
 Public Opinion , December 3rd , 1864. 
 
 Mr. Smith has been charmed with his visit to France and Switzerland, and for 
 the edification of his patrons, has published his impressions, which are pleasant 
 reading. Mr. Smith’s book is readable, and less hazy and disjointed in its 
 narrative of facts than many of the works of a similar order. The descriptions 
 are such as to awaken in the reader a desire to visit the renowned localities 
 where so many sublime and captivating wonders abound, and we may conscien¬ 
 tiously compliment Mr. Smith on having exhibited literary powers of a very 
 creditable stamp. 
 
 British Standard, December 23rd , 1864. 
 
 Mr. William Smith has done a good work in preparing the present volume. 
 He is an excellent traveller, with eyes and ears ever open to deal with sights and 
 sounds, a nimble and well-directed tongue which multiplies questions at 
 pleasure, all calculated to elicit truth. This little volume has much more in it 
 than at first sight would appear. The book may be designated travelling made 
 easy and safe at a small cost of time, toil, and money. All may be obtained at 
 one’s own fireside from this well-crammed volumo that could be gathered by 
 travelling the same route. We have for a very small sum fifteen chapters of 
 interesting matter. 
 
 Wesleyan Times , November 28 th t 1864, 
 
 There is a cheerful tone and much spirited writing in these pages. To those 
 who are unacquainted with the localities seen and described, the book will be 
 found to be full of interest and entertainment. The book professes to be no 
 more than a narrative of what the author saw and heard; and in this he has 
 succeeded to advantage. 
 
 Scarbro ’ Gazette , April 4 th } 1865. 
 
 Mr. Smith gives us his tale in the form of a diary. He begins at the beginning 
 and takes us. as a guide would do, from one place to another, pointing out nearly 
 every object of interest on the road. His observations of “ men and manners ” 
 are generally very shrewd, and often very highly amusing. Had we room for 
 quotation, we should be at no loss for most acceptable extracts; French life 
 and Swiss life are depicted and contrasted, and the scenery in each country is 
 often glowingly described. The tour in Switzerland is very interestingly pour- 
 trayed, not after the manner of a savan who can only speak of matters which 
 none but himself and his brother philosophers can understand ; but exactly in 
 that chatty gossippy strain which an intelligent tourist should adopt when 
 endeavouring to entertain his friends with the narrative of his adventures. 
 
 Bradford Review , January 7th , 1865. 
 
 This is the record of what seems to have been a very pleasant and moreover, 
 a very profitable excursion on the continent last summer,—profitable we mean, 
 to the mind of the traveller. In a simple unpretentious style, Mr. Smith relates 
 his experiences; describes the sights he saw, and the chance companions of his 
 journey. His little book is not simply interesting of itself, but is well calculated 
 to be useful to intending tourists in France and Switzerland, for it contains a 
 great amount of information respecting the route, the “ lions ” which travellers 
 will find worth looking at. and so forth. 
 
Bristol Times and Felix Farley’s Journal, Nov. 26 th, 1864. 
 
 Mr. Smith has been travelling this past summer; and in an easy and familiar 
 Style he gives the public the impressions he has formed of French manners 
 and Swiss scenery. We can speak well of Mr. Smith’s brief narrative. There 
 are some travellers to whom it may serve as a guide-book; and to these we 
 confidently leave it. 
 
 Liverpool Albion, November 28 th, 1864. 
 
 The Anthor is modestly careful to inform his readers that this is his first 
 literary effort. He does not profess any very lofty pretentions for his work ; 
 hut as a pleasantly written description of what he saw, heard and observed, it 
 does him credit. The poetical temperament is strong within him: and he lias 
 taken care to visit the spots made famous by Byron, Coleridge, Montgomery, 
 and others who have described Alpine scenery. Chillon, Lake Leman, and 
 many other interesting features of his trip are very effectively described. 
 
 Manchester Examiner and Times, October 25 th, 1864. 
 
 This brief narrative consists of jottings and recollections of a recent trip 
 through somo portions of France and Switzerland, by an intelligent Yorkshire- 
 man. Mr. Smith writes very naively and pleasantly, describes things precisely 
 as they appear to him, and, without pretence, furnishes an excellent and sugges¬ 
 tive little guide book for any who, like himself, choose to take a trip to the 
 Continent. 
 
 Bradford Observer, November VUli, 1864. 
 
 It gives us much pleasure to be able to offer a word of praise and encourage¬ 
 ment to a tyro in literature. This is Mr. Smith’s first attempt, and it does him 
 credit. His little book is pleasantly written, in a very unpretending style. He 
 is evidently the right sort of a tourist, who keeps his eyes open and enjoys the 
 fresh air and fine scenery around him. 
 
 Leeds Times, November 19th, 1864. 
 
 The unpretending little volume is full of interest. Mr. Smith’s opinions and 
 criticisms of places and scenery are always in good taste, graphic, and fresh— 
 and we can only lament that he did not more frequently give us his own impres¬ 
 sions, rather than those of other writers. 
 
 Leeds Intelligencer, October ‘Find, 1864. 
 
 This is a plain narrative of a brief tour in France and Switzerland. The 
 Writer makes no pretensions to authorship, but, being a man of fair observation 
 and judicious inquiry, what he saw in his short foreign travels he has described 
 with no mean ability, and he has produced a small volume of interesting 
 information. 
 
 SAMUEL STEAD, PRINTER, MORLEY.