Holmfirth Working Men's Conservative Club
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Towngate, Holmfirth
Kirklees Image Archive
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| "Sid's Café" |
“encourage the promoters”
and
“lead them
to hope that much good might be effected”
through the club. The Yorkshire Post reported that the town hall had
“Decorations of an extensive character”
which had been
“devised for
the occasion and the large hall in which the covers were lad had an exquisitely
tasteful appearance.”
“The altar, the throne and
the cottage,”
“The constitution: God protect it,”
“Our Queen: God bless her,”
“Reciprocity in free trade,”
and “Oastler and the factory Act.”
“Stanhope and Starkey”
“highly
pleasing and satisfactory character.”
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| Walter Spencer Stanhope |
These included Walter Thomas William Spencer Stanhope, Lewis Randle Starkey, William St James Wheelhouse, MP, Albert Pell MP and Rowland Winn MP, who all addressed the meeting.
When Stanhope spoke he stated that although the Conservatives at that moment were in the minority he believed that clubs such as Holmfirth would enable a Conservative victory to be achieved. He went on to say that calling the association a “club” meant that it
“admitted all persons of all degrees and all ranks and induced a
feeling of good fellowship.”
He went on to say that although they had not been formed long they were gaining ground and numbers, particularly working men and he hoped that during the winter months this would increase much more. He referred to the political coercion that Holmfirth and its neighbourhood had been subjected to but not what form or by whom.
“formation of such a noble institution”
“maintain, in its integrity, the glorious
constitution of this country, and to resist those wild revolutionary measures
which some unscrupulous individuals brought forth, and would lead them they
knew not where.”
“The
success of Holmfirth Working Men’s Conservative Club.”
He went on to say that as a “West Riding” man he knew how much good such clubs could accomplish since
“it was from them that much sound knowledge in regard to the true bearings of
political matters were derived and circulated and by them that much error was
dispelled.”
“very well filled.”
“excellent pieces were given in good style”
The Huddersfield Chronicle reported the programme of the concert:
By 1878 the club had begun to hold regular debating classes on a fortnightly basis. One such debate was on an essay on “The Burial Question” read by H. S. Frampton. After the essay had been read a discussion ensued and ultimately the meeting decided against the policy of opening the churchyards to “dissenters and others” for their own services. There was just one who disagreed with the majority vote. Huddersfield Chronicle 13 April 1878
Little is reported about the location or manner of the new premises but in February 1881 sixty members sat down to
“a nicely served up spread”
in their
new rooms. After the supper they adjourned to the large billiard room where the usual “loyal toasts” were given followed a number of songs and recitations by guests and members. The singing of the National Anthem brought the evening to a close and it was hailed as
“a most enjoyable and successful
gathering.”
“the Conservative working man was a myth”
“in a manner that reflected
great credit”
to the ladies concerned. After the supper the fifty members retired to the billiard room where they joined a large meeting. When Mr Potter addressed the gathering he informed that a new Conservative Club was to be inaugurated at Holme with about 60 members initially. He suggested that they should approach Mr Hardy, their candidate, to open the new club and afterwards hold a public meeting in Holmfirth Town Hall. Flint Burrill in his address also referred to the growth of Conservatism in the village of Holme, saying that a few years previously there had only been one Conservative voter and that it had risen to 40. Joshua Moorhouse responded and pointed out that the Holmfirth Conservative Club had been established
“for the
purpose of multiplying voters in the district and members ought to make every
effort to increase the number of Conservative votes.”
The formal meeting was followed by songs performed by members and accompanied by H. Beall on the piano. Huddersfield Chronicle 6 November 1883
“Political
Topics of the Day”.
A large audience had gathered in the town hall to hear his lecture. When Bottomley concluded his lecture he took questions from the floor.
Another lecture in the town hall the following year addressed the issues of
“The coming election”
and was given by F. W. Deacon. The meeting was a very noisy one with a great many people seemingly who had gone
“for the express
purpose of making noise.”
Due to this the chairman had a difficult job maintaining control and had to call for order several times. Deacon urged the voters to give their votes to
“the most patriotic and best men”
and concluded his address with –
Up, Britons, unite for freedom,
For justice now stand past.
For the blessings of the future,
The glories of the past.
For liberty and Empire,
For Queen, for Church, and State,
And all that ln the days gone by
Have made old England great.
We've the brave old flag before us,
And victory ln our train.
We've best the “Rads “before my lad,
And so we will again!
Deacon then took questions on many
issues from the audience and satisfactorily answered them.
In the December following this lecture a large
meeting was held again in the Town hall to support the candidature of Colonel Heneage Legge for the Holmfirth
Division. There were over a thousand
people present at this meeting which
would suggest that the previous lecture had had the desired effect in gaining
support for the Conservative cause especially as the meeting was described as
being “enthusiastic!” A vote of confidence in Colonel Legge was carried by an
overwhelming majority. Huddersfield Chronicle 29 March 1884; 5
November & 3 December 1885
“high class nature”.
The Huddersfield Chronicle reported the line-up for the evening –
The artistes engaged were Miss Alma
Hallowell, soprano, R.A.M Medallist of the London Concerts ; Miss Sara Cragg,
contralto, of the principal Provincial Concerts; Mr. Tom Buckland, tenor, of
the Manchester and Leeds Concerts ; Mr. Rickard, bass, Schubert Society
Concerts, London; and Mr. Stead, solo trombone, of the Meltham Mills Prize
Band.
“excellent quadrille band”
and dancing was
“well
kept up until an early hour in the morning.”
Huddersfield Chronicle 6 February 1885
The following week the club held its annual tea party and entertainment in the Town Hall. Messrs C. Dawson and Son provided the tea which was served by the ladies associated with the club, in the large room of the town hall to around 190 people. After tea there followed a concert with a miscellany of entertainments. Long before the start of the concert the room began to fill and was soon crowded.
The evenings programme was divided into two parts and during the interval Cookson Stephenson addressed the crowd and briefly reported on the success of the club. The concert was followed by what had become the customary annual ball with music from Sandford’s band and dancing until the early hours of the morning. The whole event was viewed as a great success both from the monetary point of view and the artistic. Huddersfield Chronicle 6 February 1886
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Lord Iddesleigh,
Stafford Henry Northcote.
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The annual meeting in 1887 was held in the billiard room at the club with the club president Cookson Stephenson in the chair. It was the first meeting that they had held since the death of Lord Iddesleigh, Stafford Henry Northcote, a prominent Conservative politician, former Chancellor of the Exchequer and Foreign Secretary. The club paid their respects him and condolences to his widow at the start of the meeting. The club secretary Thomas Booth then read out the annual report which showed the club to be in a healthy position with a total of 160 members. He also reported the success of the previous year’s annual tea party, concert and ball and the annual excursion although no mention of where the excursion visited.
The annual tea party, concert and ball was held in February 1887 and was again very successful despite the
“wretched
state of the weather”
with an excellent attendance.
“A good substantial meat
tea”
was provided to 170 people by Messrs Cawthorn and Birch and was served by
the ladies as was the custom. As customary the evening continued with a concert which was well attended with a full programme in two parts and the club president Cookson Stephenson addressing the audience during the interval. J.H. Turner gave a toast of thanks to the ladies who had served the meal and said that
“so long as they managed to enlist the sympathies of the ladies
the success of the tea and concert would be assured.”
As with many of the clubs at that time although women could not have membership of the club, the club could not survive without their help and support. The ball that concluded the occasion was also well attended and dancing was
“kept up with vigour until an early hour in the
morning.”
“larger and more
commodious premises”
of their own.
Huddersfield Chronicle 22 January, 5
February, 3 December 1887 & 4 February 1888
Harold Thomas, the Conservative candidate for Holmfirth invited Coningsby Disraeli (nephew of Benjamin Disraeli) to dine at the Holmfirth Conservative Club in April 1890. Coningsby Disraeli was in Sheffield together with Mr Lane Fox, Vice Chancellor of the Primrose League, to take part in several Conservative demonstrations in the area.
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| Coningsby Disraeli |
1890 also saw the club celebrating its “majority”, twenty one years since its formation. To mark the occasion a dinner was held at the Victoria Hotel, Holmfirth followed by a meeting in the town hall. Around sixty people sat down for dinner and after a number of toasts were proposed they adjourned to the town hall where a much larger crowd awaited.
Many prominent Conservatives attended the event including Charles Edward Howard Vincent, MP for Central Division of Sheffield and Harold Thomas the Conservative candidate for the Holmfirth division. Cookson Stephenson chaired the meeting and said that when the club had first formed there were very few Conservative Clubs but in 1890 there was
“hardly a village or hamlet in the country that did
not possess a Conservative Club.”
He also referred to the fact that since their opening they had had to move to larger premises in 1881 due to the increase in numbers. The club had been a part of both Conservative triumphs and defeats during their 21 years and in 1874 had celebrated a Conservative victory when two Conservative candidates had been returned
“in the persons of Stanhope and Starkey”
as part of a large Conservative majority in the country that year. The change of the county franchise and redistribution gave Holmfirth additional responsibility as it gave its name to one of the electoral divisions of the West Riding of Yorkshire. This redistribution caused difficulties as the constituency included a large mining population and the miners at that time pinned
“their faith to
Radical doctrines.”
1885 and 1886 saw the Conservative candidates being unsuccessful and showed that although
“Holmfirth Radicalism”
may have lessened a little it was still strong. It must have seemed a dauntless task for the club to promote Conservatism in the light of this radicalism but the club carried on its work. Nottingham Evening Post 29 April 1890; Sheffield Daily Telegraph 30 April 1890; Huddersfield Chronicle 3 May 1890
“the Brighton of the
North.”
Around 800 people left Holmfirth station at 5.30am and arrived in Blackpool around 9am. An enjoyable day was followed by a fireworks display at “places of amusements” and then they caught the train home, arriving back in Holmfirth about 3.30 the following morning! It was reported that the club funds would be augmented as a result of the trip.
“very interesting address”
on “Present Day Politics”
with
special reference to the
“Suspended Home Rule Bill.”
The club was “well satisfied” with Pott’s lecture and expressed their hope that he would pay another visit and address a public meeting in
“more commodious premises.”
Whether the club were hoping to move to larger premises at that time or whether a local venue was in mind is difficult to say.
Soprano, ' '
Miss Lizzie Burgess, of Manchester (formerly primadonna with the Carl Kosa
Opera Company); contralto - Anna Hope, of Manchester; tenor, Edwin Kellett, of
Knottingley; bass, William Riley of Huddersfield; and accompanist, Mr. J E.
Pearson.
“very
numerous” with an “audience that was most enthusiastic.”
All of the vocalists had appeared in Holmfirth previously except Miss Hope who was very well received and sang a song entitle the “Enchantress” which it was reported brought out
“the beauty of
her even voice and the excellence of her cultured style.”
The vocalists, except Miss Hope performed at a concert of the Holmfirth Choral Society later that same year. The ball which followed the concert had an attendance of 100 people and music was provided by Arthur Coldwell and his band.
“there
was no reason why it should not be stormed and taken by the Unionist party.”
He went on to stress that it would not all be dependent on himself as candidate but also on the Unionist workers and voters in the district. This implying that the local Conservatives and club members would have much work to do to gain votes for their cause. The vicar of Holmfirth and other prominent local men also spoke at the meeting. Sheffield Independent 27 April 1899; Yorkshire Post 26 April 1899
The Holmfirth Express reported -
“His song was a favourite from
Sullivan’s Gondoliers,” Take a Pair of Sparkling and he utilised his robust
tenor voice to the fullest advantage. He is a cultured musician of much
promise, and the audience accorded him a warm encore. He replied with the
ever-favourite Mary of Argyle,” in which Mr. Sanderson showed good taste in
expression and restraint. It is safe to predict a future for this Holmfirth
vocalist if he maintains his improvement.”
Sanderson was due to take up a new role as tenor soloist at Ripon Minister later that year.
Wells Journal 13 February 1908
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| Geoffrey Ellis |
The Conservative cause continued to struggle in 1910 when the division suffered defeat in the General Election. Henry Joseph Wilson won the seat for the Liberals with 6339 votes, Robert Geoffrey Ellis for the Conservatives only managed 3043 votes. Despite this they were still determined and in March they held a large reception of over three hundred representatives of the Party from all parts of the division in the drill hall in Holmfirth. The purpose of the gathering was to show their high appreciation of their candidate Geoffrey Ellis who had undertaken such a
“Herculean task"
and
“the splendid way in
which he strove to plant the Unionist flag in the division.”
The event took the form of a complimentary banquet for Ellis with a short toast list and no chairman. Speeches at the banquet were followed by a number of musical pieces and an enjoyable social evening was reported to be had by all. It had been arranged spontaneously by the Holmfirth and District Conservative and Unionist Association and was quite a formal affair. Ellis had a terrific reception from the crowd who greeted him with
“a
fine outburst of enthusiasm.”
Ellis impressed upon those present that success for the party did not come purely through the candidate but through the efforts and hard work of local people and politicians and urged them to take leadership in their area. Much the same message as Stuart Wortley had given in 1899.
When Ellis stood again in 1912 even Bonar Law, the Conservative leader, acknowledged that Ellis was in
“an uphill fight at
Holmfirth.”
The result in 1912 was similar to that of 1910 but the Liberals this time did have a smaller majority. When Ellis spoke later in the day at the Holmfirth Conservative Club he said
“that it was clear that in the future there
would be three parties contesting the Division. The Conservatives had a very
difficult task in this part of Yorkshire, but he believed that it was not
impossible and ultimately they would be successful.”
Sheffield Daily Telegraph 12 March 1910 & 18 June 1912; Sheffield Evening Telegraph 21 June 1912; Leeds Mercury 21 January 1910.
Holmfirth Conservative Club and WW1.
Private Fred Pogson enlisted in 2/7th Battalion West Yorkshire Regiment on 14 October 1916 as a rifleman. He was born in Wooldale, Holmfirth, the son of Mrs J. F. Dawson, Rotcher Bottom, Holmfirth and educated at Lane Bottom School and Holmfirth National School. After leaving school was employed by Messrs H. and S. Butterworth, Holmfirth, and then by Mr Fred Lawton, Bridge Mills, Holmfirth. Fred had been a member of the Holmfirth Cricket and Athletic Club and also of the Holmfirth Conservative Club before enlistment and was also a bass player in the Wooldale Brass Band. He embarked for France on 7 January 1917 and was reported missing, presumed killed, at the Battle of Cambrai on 28 November that year. Fred has no known grave but is commemorated on CAMBRAI MEMORIAL TO THE MISSING.
