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Sowerby Bridge ...



Entries beginning Sowerby Bridge ... and The Sowerby Bridge ... are gathered together in this Sidetrack.


Sowerby BridgeRef 29-S169
Important town to the west of Halifax, lying on the Calder and the Ryburn rivers.

See Population and Calder Registration District

Sowerby Bridge AbattoirRef 29-S399
Sowerby Bridge Slaughterhouse opened on 15th September 1868.

The Abattoir opened in 1879

Sowerby Bridge AlmanackRef 29-5
Recorded in 1897 Printed and published by William Ingham

Sowerby Bridge Amateur Cricket LeagueRef 29-15
Recorded in 1946, when they played on the pitch at Blackwall Lane, ^sbbr^

Sowerby Bridge ATC BandRef 29-12
Recorded as Extinct.

This may be another name for the Sowerby Bridge Brass Band or an earlier band

Sowerby Bridge BathsRef 29-S1972
Hollins Mill Lane, Sowerby Bridge.

Municipal public baths designed by J. H. Smethurst and built on land bought from W. A. Nicholl. The baths opened in 1878 with slipper baths and two swimming pools.

During winter, the baths were not used for swimming, and were known as the Princes Hall.

Charles Dilworth was Manager here and his wife was Matron [1891].

There was a National Kitchen here [4th February 1918].

The baths were rebuilt in 1922. The baths are still in use [2008].

In 2010, new baths were built on Station Road, on the site of the former market

Sowerby Bridge, Battle ofRef 29-S494
A skirmish in the Civil War in January 1644, when a group Parliamentarians from Heptonstall under the command of Major Eden attacked the Royalists under Colonel Wentworth who were guarding the County Bridge at Sowerby Bridge. The Royalists were defeated and many retreated or were forced to surrender. 3 men were killed and 42 men – including Captain Clapham – were captured.

See Battle of Slaughter Gap

Sowerby Bridge Board of GuardiansRef 29-S3236
A part of the Halifax Poor Law Union.

Those who have served on the Board of Guardians for Sowerby Bridge township have included

Sowerby Bridge BoroughRef 29-S351
The Borough of Sowerby Bridge was created in June 1856. On 15th August 1856, the 12 elected members held their first meeting in the Bull's Head Hotel. The borough became a part of Calderdale in 1974

See Sowerby Bridge Town Hall and Sowerby Bridge Urban District Council

Sowerby Bridge Bowling ClubRef 29-S1509

Sowerby Bridge Boys' BrigadeRef 29-13

Sowerby Bridge Brass BandRef 29-S438
Established in 1881.

Until 1885, when their band room was opened on Wakefield Road, they practised at the Oddfellows Arms and the Brown Cow.

In 1911, they won First Prize in a national contest at the Crystal Palace, London.

See Archibald Haigh, Sowerby Bridge ATC Band, Sowerby Bridge Prize Band and Sowerby Bridge Subscription Band

Sowerby Bridge Burial BoardRef 29-S2394
See Sowerby Bridge Burial Board [1878] and Sowerby Bridge Burial Board [1902]

Sowerby Bridge canal basinRef 29-S492
Although the locks on the Calder & Hebble were wider than those on the Rochdale Canal, with a length of 57½ ft, they were shorter and could only take smaller vessels and not the 70 ft boats from Lancashire. As a result, Sowerby Bridge became a trans-shipment point between the 2 canal systems.

The Rochdale Canal Act [1793] instructed the Calder and Hebble Navigation Company to build at Sowerby Bridge whatever wharves and warehouses the Rochdale Company wanted, the latter to pay for the space they used.

The basin and its buildings were designed and built during the late 18th / early 19th centuries as a trans-shipment depot at the junction of the Calder & Hebble Navigation, the Rochdale Canal and the turnpike.

In 1972, Mark Andrew and his wife Roma took the lease from British Waterways.

The area has recently been redeveloped and a number of bars and restaurants have been established.

This is discussed in the book Our Home & Country.

See Aire & Calder Navigation, Kirkham Turn, Sowerby Bridge, Moorings, Sowerby Bridge, Salt Warehouse, Sowerby Bridge, Sowerby Bridge weigh-house, Tuel Lane Lock, Warley Clough and Wet Dock, Sowerby Bridge

Sowerby Bridge Choral SocietyRef 29-S348
Established in 18??.

Recorded in 1896, when

Members of the Society have included

On 16th July 1903, it was decided to closed down the society, after the room at the Town Hall became too small for their concerts.

A group of former members established the Sowerby Bridge Musical Society

See Joseph Greenwood and Thomas Hoey

The Sowerby Bridge ChronicleRef 29-S423
The newspaper was published by William Ackroyd – who was in partnership with Fred Lumb – in offices which were in Town Hall Court behind Sowerby Bridge Town Hall. The first issue was dated 9th February 1883.

Price: ½d [1899, 1904].

A short time after the inauguration of the paper, William Ackroyd became sole proprietor.

It was published on Fridays between the years 1883 and 1914.

The last issue was in June 1914. Ackroyd died later in 1914

Sowerby Bridge Church Institute Cricket ClubRef 29-S1487
Known as The Smock Lot to distinguish them from the Sowerby Bridge Cricket Club

Sowerby Bridge: Churches & ChapelsRef 29-3

Sowerby Bridge Civic TrustRef 29-S616

Sowerby Bridge Company No. 176Ref 29-S2199
A company of soldiers who served in World War I

Sowerby Bridge Conservative ClubRef 29-S3162
Recorded in 1890 at Ryburn Buildings

See John Hellewell

Sowerby Bridge constablesRef 29-S1639
The Foldout lists some of the people who have served as Police Officers in Sowerby Bridge

Sowerby Bridge Constitutional Association & ClubRef 29-S2398
Recorded in 1898, when Alfred Carter and others sought to obtain land for the Club premises.

Recorded in 1917 at Ryburn Buildings, when James Eastwood was secretary. See Sowerby Bridge Constitutional Club War Memorial and Charles Labourn Wray

Sowerby Bridge Co-operative Society LimitedRef 29-S2173
Established in 1860. On 9th April 1910, they celebrated their Jubilee.

In 1964, the Society took over the Luddendenfoot Industrial Co-operative Society.

In 1969, the Society went into liquidation.

The store stood on West Street

Sowerby Bridge Council OfficesRef 29-S414
Hollins Mill Lane. Built in 18??

Sowerby Bridge Cricket ClubRef 29-S1492
Established in April 1852.

They played at White Windows.

The club disbanded in 18??.

Reformed in 1877 when they played at grounds on Walton Street.

On 28th April 1934, a new score box opened at the Ground.

See Sowerby Bridge Church Institute Cricket Club and John Thompson

Sowerby Bridge District Land, Building & Investment Company LimitedRef 29-S2372
Recorded in 1874 at Sowerby Bridge Town Hall when Hirst & Greenwood were Secretaries

Sowerby Bridge Division I.L.P.Ref 29-8
A branch of the Independent Labour Party.

Recorded in 1906, when Christabel Pankhurst gave an address on Women's Suffrage

Sowerby Bridge Female SocietyRef 29-S2175
Recorded in 1805

Sowerby Bridge Fire StationRef 29-S2009
The fire brigade was formed in 1866. In 1898, Sowerby Bridge Urban District Council introduced a horse-drawn tender.

The fire station in Hollins Mill Lane opened on 31st December 1904 – the second oldest in England.

In January 1905, a horse-drawn steam-engine – the Sowerby Bridge Gem – was introduced at a cost of £400.

In 1928, the Gem was replaced by the motorised Ellen.

The station closed in 1991 and was superseded by Halifax Fire Station

Sowerby Bridge Free LibraryRef 29-S3117
In the early 1900s, a number of people – including William Ackroyd, Rev Canon Charles Llewellyn Ivens, Rev George Samuel Smith, John Henry Swallow, and J. H. Schofield - were strong advocates for a Free Library in Sowerby Bridge.

One was established in 19??

Sowerby Bridge Friendly SocietyRef 29-S2174
A friendly society recorded in 1882

Sowerby Bridge Gas CompanyRef 29-S2156
The gas company was formed in 1835. In 1856, it became a limited company.

In March 1861, the company was taken over by Sowerby Bridge Local Board of Health for the sum of £18,196.

In 1874, J. Husband was Manager.

The town produced its own gas supply until 1954.

See Sowerby Bridge Gas Works, Wharf Street, Sowerby Bridge and Willow Hall Mill

Sowerby Bridge Industrial Society LimitedRef 29-S2190
Founded April 1860. The Grocery Department opened on 13th December 1860.

Premises in West Street were built in 1904 at a cost of £5,500.

In 18??, they constructed a footbridge over the Rochdale Canal near the Puzzle Hall Inn.

In 1861, Branch #1 was opened in Ripponden. The premises were built [1863] on the site of what had been a smithy.

Branches were opened at Ripponden, Mill Bank, Warley, Sowerby, Bolton Brow, Triangle, West Vale, Tuel Lane, Albert Road [1894], and Norland [1896].

There were stables and a slaughterhouse on Quarry Hill. These were built on the site of the Quaker Burial Ground.

In 1918, the Society bought Kebroyd House, Ripponden.

In June 1920 there was a strike by the employees of Society over union recognition.

On 28th July 1923, a farming experiment by the Society made a loss of £10,089.

The Society suddenly went into voluntary liquidation in 1968.

See Oliver Eatough, Thomas Gill, John Law, George Rushworth and Sowerby Bridge Industrial Society Limited

Sowerby Bridge Isolation HospitalRef 29-S635
Milner Royd. Recorded in 1905

Sowerby Bridge Knitting CommitteeRef 29-7
Recorded in March 1900, when they appealed for volunteers to knit helmets and scarves for soldiers fighting in South Africa

Sowerby Bridge Labour ClubRef 29-S2405
Recorded in 1917 at Commercial Bank Chambers, Sowerby Bridge when Mark Crossley was Secretary.

In 1922, the Club Steward was Whiteley Jowett of Bolton Brow Sowerby Bridge

Sowerby Bridge Labour ExchangeRef 29-S3040
Stands at the junction of Norland Road and Station Road. Built in the 1930s.

It is currently used as the Police Station

Sowerby Bridge Liberal AssociationRef 29-S2019
Recorded in February 1912, when George Windsor was President.

The Sowerby Bridge Liberal Association Registration Office was recorded in 1917 at the Liberal Club, Hollings Mill Lane, when Ewart James was secretary and registration agent.

See Sowerby Bridge Liberal Club and Sowerby Bridge Town Hall

Sowerby Bridge Liberal ClubRef 29-S2167
The Sowerby Bridge & District Liberal Club was founded in 1875.

On 5th January 1903, the Club bought a part of Sowerby Bridge Town Hall for their new club premises at a cost of £2,600. The premises included the Tower and all the buildings on the Hollings Mill Lane side. Samuel Wilkinson was involved in the design of the Club.

It was recorded in 1917, when it was at Hollings Mill Lane, and William H. Hall was secretary

See Abraham Clay, Thomas Hoey, Edwin Meadowcroft, Sowerby Bridge Liberal Association and Joseph Sutcliffe

Sowerby Bridge LibraryRef 29-S1072
Hollins Mill Lane.

A library was opened in 2 rooms in the Town Hall [1893].

Within a year, the membership had grown to 800.

The idea of a new library was mooted by William Ackroyd, editor of the Sowerby Bridge Chronicle, in 1887.

In 1902, after being approached by Councillor Frank Clay, Andrew Carnegie subscribed £2,500 towards the cost of a library, on condition that the local Council provided the site.

A plot of land in Hollings Lane had already been acquired for other purposes, but the Local Government Board approved the site being used for the new Library.

The architect was Mr Whitehead, the surveyor.

The new library was opened by Frank Clay and William Haigh on Saturday 14th October 1905.

The lintel is inscribed


ERECTED AD 1905
BY THE GENEROSITY OF
ANDREW CARNEGIE Esq

An article in the Sowerby Bridge Chronicle gave the dimensions of the building

  • The Library has an area of 32 by 40 ft
  • The Reading Room: 46 by 24 ft
  • The Reference Library: 24 by 10 ft
  • The Ladies' Room: 22 by 16 ft
  • The Hall: 27 by 16 ft
  • The Corridor: 24 by 8 ft

In 197?, the library banned The Sun newspaper on account of its

excessive sexual content

See James Edward Ball, John Bates Collection and Luddenden Circulating Library

Sowerby Bridge Literary & Scientific SocietyRef 29-S2187

Sowerby Bridge Local BoardRef 29-S402
Formed in 1856.

It was the first Board of Health in the Upper Calder Valley. The first elections to the Board took place on 30th July 1856.

They commissioned a report on the water supply in the area which led to the establishment of Cote Hill Reservoir and the Sowerby Bridge Waterworks.

In August 1893, Godfrey Rhodes & Evans, clerks to the Board, sought to recover damages from Mr Labouchère, proprietor of Truth, for libel when he wrote that the Board's sewerage scheme was

floated in a hole-and-corner meeting and was an instance of flagrant jobbery

The jury awarded the plaintiffs one farthing damages, with costs to be divided.

On 31st December 1894, it was superseded by the Sowerby Bridge District Council.

See Charles Barstow, William Elliot, Samuel Garnett, Richard Hoey, Local Board, Henry Alexander Norris, John Smith, Sowerby Bridge Cemetery, Sowerby Bridge Gas Works and W. Wilkinson

Sowerby Bridge Lock #1Ref 29-S865
Lock #1 on the Rochdale Canal where it joins the Calder & Hebble Canal at Sowerby Bridge Wharf. There are 2 gates at one end of the lock to enable it to handle both the 74 ft boats from the Rochdale Canal, and the 57 ft 6 ins boats from the Calder and Hebble.

See Lock House, Sowerby Bridge

Sowerby Bridge Lock #2Ref 29-S820
Lock #2 on the Rochdale Canal.

See Albert Wood Lock and Masons' marks on the Rochdale Canal

Sowerby Bridge Madrigal SocietyRef 29-S295
Recorded in the 1920s, when Fred Sutcliffe was a member

Sowerby Bridge MarketRef 29-S2224
It was on Station Road.

In 2010, new baths were built on the site.

See Markets

Sowerby Bridge Mechanics' InstituteRef 29-S2040
A Mechanics' Institute was established in 1838.

Recorded in 1874 at Sowerby Bridge Town Hall when William Wood was Secretary.

In 1893, it was held at Ellison Memorial Junior School, Sowerby Bridge.

See Sowerby Bridge National School and Fred Sutcliffe

Sowerby Bridge: MillsRef 29-1

Sowerby Bridge Musical SocietyRef 29-S288
Recorded in 1905, when the founder, William Arthur Sutcliffe made a public appeal for support for the Society

for the practice of good music

after the Sowerby Bridge Choral Society had been disbanded.

The Society's first concert took place on 5th December 1905.

William Arthur Sutcliffe was President and J. G. Ashworth was Secretary

Sowerby Bridge Nurses HomeRef 29-S3142
Opened on 4th February 1928

Sowerby Bridge Organ GroupRef 29-S3271
They rebuilt the organ at Christ Church, Sowerby Bridge. Details can be found in the National Pipe Organ Register

Sowerby Bridge Pig & Poultry AssociationRef 29-S2176
Established in 1854

Sowerby Bridge Police StationRef 29-S2160
Station Road.

Part of Sowerby Bridge Town Hall was used as the first Police Station in the town.

Between 1863-1864, Wharf House was leased to the West Riding Constabulary for use as a Police Station.

A purpose-built Police Station was constructed in 1894. It is a Gothic style building. It is now a doctors' surgery

The 1930s building which is currently used as the Police Station – at the junction of Norland Road and Station Road – was formerly the Labour Exchange.

In September 2012, this was one of a number of local police stations which were to be closed and sold off in order to cut costs.

In July 2017, the property was sold at auction for £255,000.

In October 2018, proposals were submitted to convert the building into multiple-occupancy accommodation.

Sowerby Bridge Post OfficeRef 29-S2163
On 12th October 1864, a Post Office opened in Sowerby Bridge Town Hall.

Postmasters/mistresses have included

A new Office was built on Station Road and opened on 3rd September 1923.

Around 1990, the Office closed and postal services were available at a shop in Wharf Street. The Station Road building is now used as commercial premises

Mrs Emily Helm Eastwood [1856-1918] – mother of Albert Henry Eastwood – was recorded at at Sowerby Bridge sub-post office at 2 Wakefield Road, Sowerby Bridge [1916]

Sowerby Bridge Prize BandRef 29-S386

Recorded in 1934, when they were shown as winners of

  • The Holmfirth Challenge Trophy
  • Scarborough Trophy & Medals
  • The Courier & Guardian Rose Bowl
  • The Wholesale Market Trophy, Leicester [1933]

This may be another name for the Sowerby Bridge Brass Band

Sowerby Bridge Prosecution SocietyRef 29-S2186
Prosecution society recorded in 1808.

In 1900, H. P. Kendall was elected President.

Other elected officials included John Corrin Bell, William Henry Gibson, and Albert Wood

The Sowerby Bridge Public GymnasiumRef 29-9
Recorded in 1905

Sowerby Bridge: Pubs & InnsRef 29-2

Sowerby Bridge railway archesRef 29-S1181
Railway viaduct built in 1840 to carry the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway over the main road through Sowerby Bridge. It was widened in 1???.

The individual arches have been used for several purposes, including a pub

Sowerby Bridge Railway Goods OfficeRef 29-S3038
The building stands at the bottom of Sowerby Street, directly opposite the Royal Hotel.

It was built in 1838 as the

Station Booking Hall : Sowerby Bridge

Around 1870/1880s, it became the goods office for the new goods yard when the old Sowerby Bridge station closed and was demolished, and the new station was built on Station Road [1876].

It has been suggested that Branwell Brontë worked here [around 1840].

An 1845 directory, suggests that the station staff were:

  • William Brook, Inspector (living at Sowerby Street) 
  • Samuel Sweeny, Clerk

The building has subsequently been occupied by small businesses.

See Sowerby Bridge Goods Office 1939

Sowerby Bridge Railway StationRef 29-S1984
On 5th October 1840, the station opened and the Sowerby Bridge service of the Manchester-Leeds Railway Company began.

See C. W. S Union Flour Mills, Sowerby Bridge, Coal Drops, Sowerby Bridge, Charles Cornwell, George Hartley, Motor Train and Royal Hotel, Sowerby Bridge

Sowerby Bridge Rifle ClubRef 29-S2162

Sowerby Bridge Rifle CorpsRef 29-S1226
Established 22 March 1860

Sowerby Bridge Rotary ClubRef 29-S3580

See Mark Andrew

Sowerby Bridge Rugby ClubRef 29-S3282
Arthur Habergham was Captain of the Sowerby Bridge Rugby Union Team that won the Yorkshire Challenge Cup [22nd April 1899] by beating Alverthorpe after a replay

Sowerby Bridge rush-bearingRef 29-S1158
Rush-bearing in Sowerby Bridge – as elsewhere in the district – became less popular towards the end of the 19th century, but it was revived in 1906 and again in 1977 to mark the Silver Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II. The recent revival was due to a number of local people, including Gary Stringfellow and Fred Knights.

In 1978, it was fixed as the first Saturday and Sunday in September.

It is now a major tourist attraction for the Sowerby Bridge and Ryburn Valley and is spread over 3 days.

The participants gather on the Friday evening to complete the decoration of the rush-cart by early Saturday morning. The cart is thatched with 500 bundles of plaited rushes. When loaded with rushes, the cart is 16 ft high, weighs 18 cwt and is pulled by 60 men wearing white shirts, black trousers, panama hats and clogs. 10 brake-men wearing rubber-soled clogs stand behind the cart in order to control the cart as it goes downhill.

The procession – accompanied by various bands of supporters, clog-dancers, and musicians – moves from St John's Church, Warley to Sowerby Bridge and Sowerby. En route, there are stops at each church to distribute the rushes, and stops at the pubs when the beer-carriers receive pints and take them to the men who pull the cart. The cart reaches Sowerby on Saturday evening.

On Sunday morning, a service is held at St Peter's Church, Sowerby. The procession then moves along the hill tops – Cottonstones, Mill Bank, Triangle and up the Ryburn Valley, terminating at St Bartholomew's Church and the Old Bridge Inn in Ripponden

Sowerby Bridge School BoardRef 29-6

See Edward Ernest Pollit, Sowerby Bridge Board School, Tuel Lane Board School and James Wood

Sowerby Bridge: SchoolsRef 29-4

Sowerby Bridge SlaughterhouseRef 29-10
Quarry Hill.

The stables and the slaughterhouse for the Sowerby Bridge Industrial Society Limited were built on the site of the Quaker Burial Ground.

The Halifax Guardian [Saturday, 5th September 1868] published the charges introduced by Sowerby Bridge Local Board, Slaughterhouse Committee


  1. For killing

    1. cows 9d each,
    2. pigs 6d,
    3. sheep, lambs 3d,
    4. calves 4d

  2. For storing

    1. cattle not killed on premises 3d per head,
    2. sheep, pigs & calves, etc., 1d

  3. For weighing anything up to 20 lbs, one ½d
 

The buildings were demolished in the 1960s.

The site is now grassed over

Sowerby Bridge StationRef 29-S341

Sowerby Bridge Subscription BandRef 29-S558
Recorded as Extinct.

This may be another name for the Sowerby Bridge Brass Band or an earlier band

Sowerby Bridge Swimming ClubRef 29-S3144
Recorded in 1903, when Thomas Copley was President.

See Reginald Hartley Wilkinson

Sowerby Bridge Tea, Coffee, Cocoa & Refreshment House CompanyRef 29-S2198
Town Hall Street, Sowerby Bridge. The company was registered in June 1880.

On 15th August 1889, the Company was voluntarily wound-up

Sowerby Bridge Technical InstituteRef 29-S106
Town Hall Chambers, Wharf Street. Recorded in 1905

See Public Library & Technical Institute, Sowerby Bridge

Sowerby Bridge Toll GateRef 29-S69
A toll gate stood at the junction of West Street and Watson Mill Lane. The gates were removed in 1872. The toll house was demolished in 198?

Sowerby Bridge Town HallRef 29-S478
The notable building stands at the end of the bridge over the Calder.

The building was designed by Perkin & Backhouse of Leeds for the Sowerby Bridge Town Hall Company. The foundation stone was laid on Whit Monday 1856 by Sir Henry Edwards.

The building opened on 30th September 1857. At the opening ceremony, a performance of Haydn's Creation was presented in the public hall with Mrs Sunderland.

It comprised offices, reading room, library, reception rooms, kitchens and cellars. The wing on Hollins Mill Lane had a large auditorium [67 ft by 46 ft] accommodating 700 people.

It was built by the Sowerby Bridge Town Hall Company who hoped that the new Sowerby Bridge Council would buy the building from them – this did not happen – and the Hall was never the Town Hall.

The clock was installed by public subscription in 1863 as a memorial to the Crimean War.

The building has been used as a police station, a cinema, and a roller-skating rink.

In 1864, a Post Office opened in the building.

The Town Hall Tavern was built next door.

In 1874, Sowerby Bridge Mechanics' Institute was here.

Geoffrey Emmanuel Mitchell sold the property to Lloyds Bank, but the clock was bought by public subscription and is the property of the people of Sowerby Bridge.

In 1894, a library was opened in the building.

On 5th January 1903, Sowerby Bridge Liberal Club bought the Town Hall for their new club premises at a cost of £2,600. Between 1903 and 193?, it was used by the Sowerby Bridge Liberal Association.

It was then used by the YMCA. It was unoccupied in the 1950s.

On 19th November 1963, the wing on Hollins Mill Lane was demolished. Since that time, the rest of the building has been a branch of Lloyds Bank.

See Joseph Greenwood, Sowerby Bridge Baptist Church, Borough of Sowerby Bridge and Sowerby Bridge Urban District Council

Sowerby Bridge Town Hall CompanyRef 29-14
Company which built the Sowerby Bridge Town Hall in 1857, with money raised by the sale of 4000 shares at £1 each.

It was hoped that the new Sowerby Bridge Council would buy the building from them – but this did not happen – and the Hall was never the Town Hall.

Officers of the Company have included

Sowerby Bridge United Clubs Brewery Company LimitedRef 29-S764
Brewers, maltsters, hop merchants and growers, malt factors, corn merchants, wine and spirit merchants and importers, distillers, manufacturers of, and dealers, in aerated and mineral waters and other drinks, club proprietors and licensed victuallers.

In 1899, the clubs of Sowerby Bridge and district decided to amalgamate and establish themselves as brewers and wine and spirit merchants, their intention being to chiefly supply clubs. They also traded with other outlets such as hotel proprietors.

The company was registered in 1900. Partners included Joseph Whiteley [a Ripponden joiner], William Noble [an engineer of Sowerby Bridge], Tim Helliwell [a farmer of Finkle Street, Sowerby], William H. Parker [a warehouseman of Triangle], Joseph Barrett [gent of Luddenden], William Bairstow [a mechanic of Halifax], and William E. Dyson. They took over the brewery of Cotton & Wood.

They bought Hanging Lee Mill, Ripponden.

Around 1922-1925, when brewing became unprofitable, the company was dissolved. It became Ripponden Free Brewery Company Limited.

The Brewery is discussed in the book Halifax Pubs

Sowerby Bridge United District Flour Society LimitedRef 29-S1997
A co-operative corn milling society established in 1854 at Union Mill, Sowerby Bridge and Breck Mill, Hebden Bridge.

Officers of the Society have included

  • Thomas Barron – Secretary [1861]
  • H. Hovendrake – Secretary [1874]
  • Eli Whiteley – Manager [1891]
  • John William Hopkinson – Manager [1898]

  • H. Allott (President) of Heckmondwike [1911]
  • R. Barrett of Batley [1911]
  • John Henry Batley of Brighouse [1911]
  • A. P. Fox of Cleckheaton [1911]
  • J. Haigh (Vice President) of Halifax [1911]
  • J. Hamer of Huddersfield [1911]
  • S. Hartley of Bingley [1911]
  • J. W. Hodgson (Secretary) [1911]
  • F. Holmes of Windhill [1911]
  • J. E. Kilburn of Dewsbury [1911]
  • J. Milton of Morley [1911]
  • W. Nicholl of Sowerby Bridge [1911]
  • S. Richardson of Bradford [1911]
  • E. Thorn of Keighley [1911]
  • G. F. Wright (Manager) [1911]

On 2nd September 1905, shareholders decided to offer the mills and business to the Co-operative Wholesale Society at 25/- per share.

Recorded in 1912, when they were advertising their well-known and popular flours


Snowflake
Double Biscuit
On 8th May 1915, the Society was sold to the Co-operative Wholesale Society, Manchester for £60,000.

Sowerby Bridge Urban District CouncilRef 29-S277
Formed on 31st December 1894, and superseded the Sowerby Bridge Local Board.

In 1857, the company who had built Sowerby Bridge Town Hall hoped that the Council would buy the building from them – but they didn't.

In 1900, the County Council granted their request to divide the district into wards.

On 29th March 1926, the final meeting was held of Sowerby Bridge District Council. In 1926, the union of Sowerby and Sowerby Bridge resulted in the formation of Sowerby Urban District Council.

In 1937, this was changed to Sowerby Bridge Urban District Council because of possible confusion with the name of the village of Sowerby in north Yorkshire.

In 1937, Luddendenfoot, Norland and a part of Midgley, joined the new Sowerby Bridge Urban District Council.

On 1st April 1939, Midgley became a ward of Sowerby Bridge Urban District Council.

It was incorporated into Calderdale MBC in 1974.

People connected with the Council have included

  • John Bates
  • Abraham Clay
  • Frank Clay
  • Councillor Fishwick
  • William Henry Gibson
  • William Gledhill
  • John William Lodge
  • J. L. Wrigley

    See Brow Hike, Sowerby Bridge, Metropolitan Borough of Calderdale, Luddendenfoot Local Board, Midgley Urban District Council, Borough of Sowerby Bridge and Urban District Council

    Sowerby Bridge, Vicars ofRef 29-S984

    Sowerby Bridge Ward, HalifaxRef 29-S2828
    One of the Electoral Wards of Halifax

    Sowerby Bridge WaterworksRef 29-S1167
    The Sowerby Bridge Local Board commissioned a report on the water supply in the district. Completed in 1857 and 1858, the survey found that about one quarter of the houses in the Sowerby Bridge district were supplied by Colonel Edwards, another quarter by Joseph Pollit, and the remainder were very indifferently supplied.

    In 1858, Mr Foster, a Manchester engineer, made a survey of the district and suggested obtaining water from Victoria Reservoir, Halifax, from Boulderclough and from Norland.

    The Sowerby Bridge Waterworks opened on 17th August 1864.

    See Cote hill reservoir

    Sowerby Bridge weigh-houseRef 29-S52
    Mid-19th century weigh-house for the Rochdale Canal Company in the Sowerby Bridge canal basin.

    Now a shop

    Sowerby Bridge West EndRef 29-S1425
    19th century cricket club

    Sowerby Bridge West End Opera CompanyRef 29-11
    Recorded in the 1920s, when Fred Sutcliffe was a member

    Sowerby Bridge Working Men's Club & InstituteRef 29-S2402
    Originally this was the Bolton Brow Working Men's Club & Institute.

    Recorded in 1917 at 11-13 Bolton Brow when Herbert Ambler Sutcliffe was secretary

    Sowerby Bridge YMCARef 29-S545
    See YMCA, Sowerby Bridge Town Hall and West End Congregational Church Sowerby Bridge

    Sowerby Bridge Youth & Community CentreRef 29-S579
    Foundry Street. The building was formerly Sowerby Bridge Wesleyan Mission Chapel


  • © Malcolm Bull 2024
    Revised 15:18 / 3rd February 2024 / 65470

    Page Ref: MMS3655

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