Wakefield Historical Society UK

Zoom in for a close-up of Wakefield's iconic '99 arches'!

Adventures in a Yorkshire Landscape (Bill Nelson) 2/2

I posted this in another place about four years ago.

Fires on spires and chimneys of black
Fields on horizons with pylons that crack
With singing sad wires of council house mystics
To apply their statistics And read the tea leaves,
Time knows no limits for days such as these. 1/2

Text: Chartism Day 2025. Heritage Quay, Huddersfield, Saturday 6 September.

Book now for Chartism Day 2025 (and please share as widely as possible)
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/chartism-d...

Barker was buried across the other side of Denby Dale Road in the churchyard of St. James, Thornes. The fountain was Grade 2 listed in 1979. /3

40 men, 60 boys & 100 females. Barker, a worsted manufacturer lived at Holmefield House from 1863 after buying it from Thomas Foljambe for £6,500. He enlarged the house in the 1870's by adding a stable block, entrance lodge, boundary wall, carriage & an avenue big chestnut trees. /2

A decorative drinking fountain to Major Joseph Barker JP erected in Clarence Park, Wakefield in 1893 by the workforce of his worsted mill at Thornes Wharf. His father William Barker was a woolstapler. In 1861 Barker was living on Denby Dale Road & was a manufacturer of knitting worsted employing /1

Interesting stuff

A blue plaque for the surviving part of the Tammy Hall, Cliff Parade, Wakefield built for the sale of tammy which was a type of worsted cloth manufactured with wildbores & camlets in the latter half of the 18th century in the mid Calder & upper Dearne valleys. The hall was 70 to 80 yards long, /1

History and Heritage Yorkshire, Yorkshire Day Heritage Walk - Pontefract Join some of the History and Heritage Yorkshire contributors this Yorkshire Day as we explore together the rich past of Pontefract – one of Yorkshire’s most historic market towns.Wander through street...

Don't forget two weeks today is #YorkshireDay and our guided heritage walk around the historic market town of Pontefract. Wander through streets steeped in history and see historic churches, the infamous castle and more. We’d love to see you there! visit payhip.com/b/XZtAD

‘A very quick market town and meately large; well served of fish and flesh…there be few towns in the inward parts of Yorkshire that hath a fairer site or soil about it.’ Henry VIII’s chaplain and antiquiary, John Leland, describing Wakefield in 1538

It is amazing how much Pontefract features not just in Yorkshire history but in that of the nation. Join some of our magazine contributors on a guided Yorkshire Day heritage walk around this fascinating market town. For more information visit payhip.com/b/XZtAD

Now in stock at your local bookshop "Darling Reads". "Horbury's Part in Hitler's Downfall". A local history book not to be missed. @darlingreads.bsky.social @darrenbyford.bsky.social @wakefieldmuseums.bsky.social @wfdhistsoc.bsky.social

Coming at 9 AM UK time tomorrow, Wednesday 16 July, is part 2 of our double podcast episode on women in the great miners' strike of 1984-5. Available to listen to early for our supporters on Patreon who make our work possible. Listen and support us at www.patreon.com/posts/e109-w...

Did you know about the Battle of Newland where a band of Wakefield yeomen fought knights sent by Henry VIII... or did they?

Head over to our blog to learn all about the research into the mysterious battle and the questions that persist... bit.ly/4nMtssf

#Tudors #HenryVIII #History #Yorkshire

You may need a desktop PC to view this. Here is sheet 1 of a detailed 1890 street map of the Westgate area of Wakefield, surveyed in 1888 combined with the names of individuals from the 1889 Kelly's Directory. /1

Lecture Programme - Wakefield Historical Society Promoting knowledge of the area's past

This Wednesday, 9 July:

‘Medieval Cloth Making in Yorkshire’ by Dr John S. Lee, University of York: West Yorkshire History Centre, 7pm

more information: www.wakefieldhistoricalsociety.org.uk/whs-events/l...

Gravestone at Wakefield Cemetery, Sugar Lane of William Harrison Rhodes & his father William Rhodes who was Mayor of Wakefield in 1903. In 1824 William's father Joseph Rhodes built a machine in a workshop in Wakefield. The machines he made were used to turn out cutlery & oil cans. /1

An excellent thread to go with the start of #Wimbledon

Our Centenary Year - Wakefield Historical Society Richard Knowles’ talk about the History of Wakefield Historical Society At our centenary event on the 14th December 2024, Richard Knowles described the history of Wakefield Historical Society. His fir...

Words About Wakefield: Kate Taylor 'Not so Merry Wakefield'

‘A very warm feeling for my native place fills my mind,… and I trust that firm friends and true will always be found to stand by her.
www.wakefieldhistoricalsociety.org.uk/our-centenar...

While I totally get the humour expressed in this plaque (stuck on the side of a late Victorian London house) it’s also a good example of what “Great Man History” does to all of us.
I can guarantee something of note happened in this house - birth, death, joy, survival - all deeply noteworthy.

A brass oval box. Text roughly punched into the lid reads: John Cole, Castle Ford, 1900'

Smoking in coal mines was a serious offence due to the fire risk, so many miners would chew tobacco instead. This tin is from an English mining town - belonging to John Cole from Castleford in West Yorkshire.

Find out more in Hooked www.rcpe.ac.uk/heritage/hoo...

Our Centenary Year - Wakefield Historical Society Richard Knowles’ talk about the History of Wakefield Historical Society At our centenary event on the 14th December 2024, Richard Knowles described the history of Wakefield Historical Society. His fir...

Words About Wakefield: from David Storey's memoir, 'A Stinging Delight'.

One evening, already asleep – the light still visible beyond the curtains – I was aware of a loud explosion and, simultaneously, of being lifted into the air.

See more: www.wakefieldhistoricalsociety.org.uk/our-centenar...

Previous Events - Wakefield Historical Society Promoting knowledge of the area's past

A fascinating talk on 18th June by Michaela Zöschg, Curator of Medieval Art, V&A Museum about : 'The Deposition from the Cross: A rare and valuable 12th century ivory carving from Wakefield'

Find out more: www.wakefieldhistoricalsociety.org.uk/whs-events/p...

We must share the archive love ❤

Our Centenary Year - Wakefield Historical Society Richard Knowles’ talk about the History of Wakefield Historical Society At our centenary event on the 14th December 2024, Richard Knowles described the history of Wakefield Historical Society. His fir...

Words About Wakefield: A 1930s childhood in Scotts Yard by Audrey Keighley

Most of my days were happy and we had some very unusual places to play. Westgate Station was behind our house and we often played on the forecourt and the platform

More: www.wakefieldhistoricalsociety.org.uk/our-centenar...

Just a week to go - find out about this unique and valuable treasure that was found in Wakefield in the 18th century and saved for the nation by the Victoria and Albert Museum.

Kingswood Suite, Wakefield Town Hall, Wednesday 18th June 7pm. Visitors welcome £2.

Reclaiming the story of Bradford's 1904 Somali village exhibition A project is looking to reframe the bizarre event of an entire African village transplanted into Bradford.

Reclaiming the story of Bradford’s 1904 Somali village. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Our Centenary Year - Wakefield Historical Society Richard Knowles’ talk about the History of Wakefield Historical Society At our centenary event on the 14th December 2024, Richard Knowles described the history of Wakefield Historical Society. His fir...

Words About Wakefield: Extract from 'Memories of Merry Wakefield' by Henry Clarkson, 1887

Public buildings have been wonderfully improved. Our beautiful town hall is a noble example of architecture, …

Find out more:i
www.wakefieldhistoricalsociety.org.uk/our-centenar...

Heaton woollen mills, Bradford, 1860. George Weerth, radical German pamphleteer, 1846: 'Every other factory town in England is a paradise in comparison to this hole ... In Bradford, you think you have been lodged with the devil incarnate.'