The Halliday family: Chronology

This brief history of The Halliday family was kindly submitted by Lucy Halliday

• Origins: Halliday family – possibly cattle drovers/pot sellers/potters/gypsies came from in and around Dundee, Scotland

• 1640: Hallidays establish Pule Hill Pottery at Pule Hill / aka Pule Nick in Boothtown, (district of Calderdale to the north of Halifax), they are described as 'arriving' in the district at this time

• 1640: Pule Hill pottery established by John, Richard, Abraham and George Halliday

• 1650: first kiln built by George, Abraham, John and Richard

• 1650: Three Scottish Halliday brothers, one called Tom (?), arrive at Boothtown from Sandal, Wakefield. They were members of a party of cattle drovers who had settled in the West Riding of Yorkshire from the Scottish lowlands in or around Dundee. They started work in a place called 'Bateain', having found clay there, which the brothers found was good for making pottery

• 1655: Hallidays move to Bateain Farm

• Near Ovenden, Halifax a pottery was started mid 17th century by family named Halliday, making slipware and black glazed articles. Hallidays had started as potters at Pule Nick near Halifax and there is still a place named Potters Yard at Pule. From here they established themselves at Bateain, about 2 miles from Halifax and half a mile beyond Howcans. Bateain Farm was in tenancy of the Hallidays from about 1655 until 1872, when Tom Halliday gave it up. However the pottery at Pule had closed many years before this. The estate where Bateain was based belonged to the family of Deardings. The Hallidays moved their main business up to Howcans where it carried on for over 100 years

• 1655?: The Churn – A feast which was a tradition of the Halliday family. The feast was served – when the hay had been gathered in to everyone who had helped with hay-making

• 1675: Richard Halliday

• 1704: John Halliday

• 1726: Richard Halliday

• 1755: Isaac Halliday

• 1756: George Halliday

• 1763: Abraham Halliday

• 1775: Move from Pule Hill pottery to Howcans took place around 1775, founding of Howcans Fine Clay Works business

• 1776: John Halliday

• 1790: John Halliday

• 1826: George Halliday

• 1828-29: Mary Halliday, owning or running an Earthenware manufacturers business called 'Hawkin's' in Halifax – this is likely a misspelling of Howcans. This is mostly likely Mary (nee Bark) who was George's (1756-1808)  wife and was also listed as an earthernware manufacturer at Northowram in 1822.

• 1830: William Halliday

• 1835: Name may have changed to Howcans Earthernware Works

• 1837: Samuel Halliday

• 1841: John Halliday as living at Bateain

• 1841: John Halliday living at Howcans as pot manufacturer

• 1851: John Halliday living at Bateain still with son Isaac and family. At this point John's sons Abraham and George controlled the Howcans Pottery, and his son Isaac controlled the coal mines at Howcans and the Bateain pottery

• 1855: Isaac Halliday inherits the Howcans coal mines and Bateain farm/pottery from his father John

• 1856: business started as Howcans Fine Clay works now seems known as Howcans Brick Works, Holmfield

• 1857: Charles William Halliday

• 1872: Tom Halliday gives up lease of Bateain Farm

• 1889: Howcans domestic side of potteries close down – Howcans potting trade may have been killed by better cheaper ware from Staffordshire

Page Ref: X326

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