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Batley, Yorkshire, England. Geographical and Historical information from 1868.

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BATLEY:
Geographical and Historical information from the year 1868.

"BATLEY, a parish and town partly in the lower division of the wapentake of Agbrigg, and partly in the wapentake of Morley, in the West Riding of the county of York, 1½ mile to the N. of Dewsbury. It lies near the Manchester and Leeds section of the London and North-Western railway, and contains the chapelries of Gildersome and Morley, the townships of Batley and Churwell, and several hamlets The township of Batley had in 1861, 14,173 inhabitants, having increased during the last 20 years at the rate of 100 per cent. The population are chiefly employed in the various branches of the woollen manufacture-blankets, carpets, cloth, &c. There are above thirty factories. The Public Hall is a stone edifice, erected in 1853, at a cost of about £2,000. The upper part of the building affords every accommodation for the giving of lectures, concerts, &c. The lower part is occupied by the mechanics' institution, whose library contains about 700 volumes. The chamber of commerce holds its meetings in the hall once a month. A local board of health for the Batley district was established in 1853, and through its exertions an Act of Parliament has been obtained for supplying the town with water. The Birstal gas-works are situated at Smithies, in this township, and the Dewsbury and Batley gas-works at Batley Carr, a populous suburb of Dewsbury, but partly in Batley parish. The living is a vicarage* in the diocese of Ripon, of the value of £300, in the patronage of the Earls of Cardigan and Wilton alternately. The church, which is in the perpendicular style, was erected in the reign of Henry VI., and contains a fine alabaster tomb with figures of a knight and his lady, and several other monuments. It is dedicated to All Saints, and has been recently embellished with a fine peal of bells, and an east window put in by Samuel Beckett, Esq., in 1855, to the memory of his wife Mary. The Wesleyans, Roman Catholics, and Independents have chapels here. A free school, founded by William Lee in 1612, for 60 children, has an income, from endowment, of £197. There are two other endowed schools, and a new National school, erected in 1861 at a cost of £2,000. The entire charitable endowments of the parish amount to £237 a year. The Leeds, Bradford, and Halifax Junction Railway Company are making a line from Adwalton to Batley, and the Bradford, Wakefield, and Leeds Railway Company are making a branch from their line at Ossett to Batley, where it will effect a junction with the above branch of the Leeds, Bradford, and Halifax Junction railway and the London and North-Western railway. A commodious station for all the lines is now in contemplation."


"BATLEY CARR, (and New Batley and Upper Batley) hamlets in the parish of Batley, wapentakes of Agbrigg and Morley, in the West Riding of the county of York, near Batley. The living is a perpetual curacy in the diocese of Ripon, value £150, in the patronage of the Vicar of Dewsbury. The church is dedicated to the Holy Trinity."


"BROOKROYD, a hamlet in the parish of Batley, and wapentake of Agbrigg, in the West Riding of the county of York, 6 miles to the W. of Wakefield."


"BROWN HILL, a hamlet in the parish of Batley, wapentake of Agbrigg, in the West Riding of the county of York, 6 miles to the N.W. of Wakefield."


"BRUNTCLIFFE THORNE, a hamlet in the township of Morley, and parish of Batley, in the wapentake of Agbrigg, West Riding of the county of York, 4 miles to the N. of Dewsbury."


"CAPAS HEIGHT, a hamlet in the township and parish of Batley, wapentake of Agbrigg, in the West Riding of the county of York, 6 miles to the N.W. of Wakefield."


"CARLINGHOW, a hamlet in the parish of Batley, and wapentake of Agbrigg, in the West Riding of the county of York, 6 miles to the N.W. of Wakefield."


"CHAPEL FOLD, a hamlet in the parish of Batley, in the West Riding of the county of York, 6 miles N.W. of Wakefield."


"CHURWELL, a township in the parish of Batley, in the wapentake of Morley, in the West Riding of the county of York, 3 miles S.W. of Leeds. It has railway stations on the London and North-Western and Great Northern lines. The village, which is very considerable, is situated to the W. of the river Aire. The Primitive and Wesleyan Methodists have places of worship. The manufacture of woollen cloth is carried on at this place, and there are several collieries in the neighbourhood. The lord of the manor is W. Hill, Esq."


"CLARK GREEN, a hamlet in the parish of Batley, in the West Riding of the county of York, 66 miles N.W. of Wakefield."


"FOUR LANE ENDS, a hamlet in the township of Morley and parish of Batley, West Riding county York, 5 miles S.W. of Leeds."


"GILDERSOME, a chapelry in the parish of Batley, wapentake of Morley, West Riding county York, 5 miles S.W. of Leeds, its post town, and 5 S.E. of Bradford. It is a railway station on the Wakefield and Bradford branch of the Great Northern line. The manufacture of woollen cloth and numerous coal-mines afford employment to most of the people. There are also fulling mills in operation. The land is chiefly meadow and pasture, and the substratum abounds with coal. The living is a perpetual curacy in the diocese of Ripon, value £120, in the patronage of the Vicar of Batley. The church is an ancient stone structure. The charities produce about £12 per annum. There are places of worship belonging to the Baptists, Wesleyans, and Society of Friends, and a free school, partly endowed. The Earl of Cardigan is lord of the manor."


"GILDERSOME STREET, a hamlet in the parish of Batley, wapentake of Morley, West Riding county York, within a short distance of Gildersome."


"HAVERCROFT, a hamlet in the parish of Batley, lower division of the wapentake of Agbrigg, in the West Riding of the county of York, 2 miles N.E. of Dewsbury."


"HEALEY, a hamlet in the parish of Batley, West Riding county York, 2 miles N. E. of Dewsbury, near the Manchester and Leeds railway. The inhabitants are chiefly engaged in the woollen and carpet manufactures."


"HOWLEY HALL, a hamlet in the township of Morley and parish of Batley, West Riding county York, 3 miles N.E. of Dewsbury."


"KELPIN HILL, a hamlet in the parish of Batley, wapentake of Lower Agbrigg, West Riding county York, 2 miles N.E. of Dewsbury."


"LEE WHITE, a hamlet in the parish of Batley, West Riding county York, 2 miles N.E. of Dewsbury. Some of the inhabitants are employed in the woollen and carpet manufactures."


"MORLEY, a township and ecclesiastical district in the parish of Batley, lower division of the wapentake of Agbrigg, West Riding county York, 5 miles S.W. of Leeds, its post town, and 5 N.W. of Dewsbury. It has stations on the Leeds and Dewsbury, and on the Leeds, Bradford, and Wakefield railways. The township includes Bruntcliffe-Shorne and three other hamlets The village, which is of large extent, was anciently the head of the wapentake to which it gives name, and one of the principal towns in the county; but on the invasion of England by the Scots in the reign of Edward II. it was completely devastated. It is situated at the base and on the acclivities of an eminence rising from a deep valley; and contains several extensive woollen manufactures, which give employment to a large number of the inhabitants. The soil is generally fertile, and the land in good cultivation. The substratum abounds with coal and freestone of excellent quality. The living is a perpetual curacy* in the diocese of Ripon, value £300, in the patronage of the Vicar of Batley. The church, dedicated to St. Peter, is situated at Four-Lane-Ends, and was erected in 1830 at a cost of £2,593, partly by a grant from the Parliamentary Commissioners. It is a stone structure, with a spired tower containing one bell. There are National schools for both sexes, also schools for the Independents and Wesleyans. There are places of worship for the Primitive Methodists, Wesleyans, and Wesleyan Reformers. The ancient parochial church was let on lease by Saville Earl of Sussex, to the Presbyterian party in the reign of Charles I. for 500 years, and is still in possession of their trustees as an Independent meeting-house. There are a mental improvement society, and a mechanics' institute. The Earl of Dartmouth is lord of the manor and principal landowner. The township contains many old mansions, as Cross Hall, Springfield House, Bank House, Morley House, Morley Hall, and Croft House. On a lofty eminence are the ruins of Howley Hall, for eighteen generations the seat of the Saville family, and which was garrisoned in the civil war of Charles I. for the parliament. In 1730 this old mansion was demolished by order of the Earl of Cardigan, and the surrounding park of 1,000 acres converted into arable land. On the E. side of the ruins of Howley Hall is Lady Anne's well, formerly much resorted to on Palm Sunday."


"NEW ROAD SIDE, a hamlet in the parish of Batley, West Riding county York, near Dewsbury."


"STAINCLIFFE, a hamlet in the township and parish of Batley, West Riding county York, 2 miles N. of Dewsbury."


"STUMP CROSS, a hamlet in the township of Morley, and parish of Batley, West Riding county York, 4 miles S.W. of Leeds, and 3½ N.W. of Dewsbury."

[Transcribed from The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland 1868]
by Colin Hinson ©2013