Lindley Conservative Club
Lindley Conservative
Club
A leaflet
from a “Grand Bazaar” held by the club in 1891 tells the starting date of its
formation. On 7th May 1869 a
meeting was held at the Albion Hotel Lindley at which J. A. Hirst proposed that
“a Conservative Association be formed for Lindley ward and that its members
should consist of those professing Conservative principles and that its object
be the advancement of the Conservative cause and that its watchwords be “The
Altar, the Throne and the Cottage.”
John Crosland was elected as President of
the new association with a committee of 20 members.
The Lindley
Working Men’s Conservative Association held their “annual” soiree in December
1871. The soiree took place in the
national schoolroom at Lindley commencing with a tea to which between 200 and
300 people attended. John Freeman, President of the
Association presided over the meeting which followed. William St James Wheelhouse, Conservative MP for Leeds addressed
the meeting and the Almondbury Glee Party added to the occasion. At the close of the meeting the company
adjourned to the Conservative rooms where a
“Quadrille Band”
entertained and
provided music for dancing which went until “a late hour.” Huddersfield Chronicle 30 December 1871
In May 1874
the Lindley branch of the Conservative Association held another “soiree” this time in honour of
Colonel Brooke’s candidature in the borough election. There was a supper
“a la fourchette”
(the
Oxford Dictionary describe this as “a meal of such substance and content as to
require simple cutlery.”)
which was served in the
“spacious rooms”
of the
association to over 50 members. The room had been decorated for the event with
banners bearing inscriptions of the names of great conservative leaders with
the names of Disraeli and Brooke in large letters at the front of the room and
displaying the number of votes that Brooke had received in the election. At the
other end of the room were banners with
“Oastler and the Factory Act”
and
“Stanhope and Starkey”
in bold characters. F.
F. Abbey was President of the Association and presided over the proceedings
with G. Dyson, the president of the
Milnsbridge Conservative Association, at the piano. The whole event was “enlivened” by song
singing both comic and sentimental. A variety of toasts were made and the
company separated “at a late hour.” Huddersfield
Chronicle 16 May 1874
 |
| Mechanics Hall. |
The Lindley
Conservative Club held a meeting and entertainment at the Mechanic’s Hall in
Lindley in December 1876. F. F.
Abbey had become president of the club and presided over the event
which was opened with the singing of a verse of
“Christians Awake.”
When the
president then addressed the gathering he reported that the membership of the
club stood at 150 members with 35 new members joining during the year. When Mr
Brooke, a local JP addressed them he advocated
“the formation of a money club
or something of that character and the provision of a billiard table, in connection
with the association and disparaged gambling and the introduction of beer
selling”
as he thought such practices would send the club “to the wall”. Many other speeches from local Conservatives
and the local vicar were given throughout the evening. Huddersfield Chronicle 30 December 1876
Foundations
stones for new premises were been laid on a cold December day in 1890. The two memorial stones were laid by Miss Waterhouse of Lindley and J. A. Brooke of Fenay Hall, President
of the Huddersfield Conservative Association.
 |
| Sir Joseph Crosland |
Sir Joseph Crosland (who later became MP for Huddersfield in 1893) was
also present at the occasion.
The cost of the new club at the time of the stone
laying was estimated at £1600. It was to
measure 84 feet by 24 feet and to be built in the style of Early English
architecture. There was a good crowd to witness the event despite the severe
weather on the day. Lindley had always been viewed up until that time as a
“Radical” place with few declaring themselves as Conservatives but the building
of the new club was a sign that politics and attitudes in the area were
changing.
 |
| Primrose Leagues Badges |
The ladies of the Lindley
Branch of the Primrose League had made a donation to the building fund of £100. W. J.
Kaye on the behalf of the building committee presented a silver trowel and
mallet to Miss Waterhouse to lay the
first cornerstone on the right hand side of the doorway. She was very active in Lindley visiting the
poor. She worked as a warden of the Primrose League and helped to promote the
building of the club.
The Reverend R. C. Wilford, on the behalf
of the building committee, present a similar trowel and mallet to J. A. Brooke, who was a well-respected
Conservative in Lindley. He laid the second cornerstone on the left hand side
of the club entrance and
“wished that success and prosperity might ever attend
the building which would be erected.”
Going on to say that he hoped
“it might not merely be a centre of
political life and light but a school of political thought.”
Sir Joseph
Crosland then addressed the gathering and wished the club every success with
its venture and
“the furtherance of sound Constitutional principles.”
Afterwards a lunch was held in the National school where speeches continued
interspersed with music.
It would appear
from comments in many of the speeches of the day that Lindley Primrose League
ladies were very active in the village. In the evening the celebrations
continued in the schoolroom with a large attendance. The Lindley Glee Party entertained between
the speeches with vocal music.
During the
time of the construction of the building fund raising continued and in October
1891 a three day
“Grand bazaar”
was opened by Lady Beatrice Lister-Kaye in the
presence of a large crowd.
The bazaar was held in the new club premises which Huddersfield Chronicle said
 |
| Lady Beatrice Lister Kaye |
The bazaar was held in the new club premises which Huddersfield Chronicle said
“the new club in both its external appearance and in the
spacious and convenient accommodation provided inside is one on which the
members have reason to be proud.”
It was hoped that the proceeds of the sales
over three days would go some way towards defraying a large part of the cost of
the new building. It was estimated that
it had cost £1500 and the ladies of the Primrose League as well as members of
the club had worked hard at fundraising during the construction. The saleroom was a testimony to the hard work
of all involved with a large range of stalls including fancy and plain work by
the ladies, bric a brac, flower stall, bran tub to name but a few. Each of the
stall had been
“artistically embellished with distinctive coloured draperies”
to great effect and were staffed by the ladies.
E. C. Waterhouse spoke to the crowd at the opening. He stated that it
had been promoted by the ladies of the Primrose League and their friends with
the intention of raising a substantial sum for the building fund. They had a
vested interest in the new building as they had their own room in the building
to use whenever they wished.
Since the inception of the new building membership
had risen from 80 to 120 and at the time of the bazaar stood at 200. These figures were exclusive of the Primrose
League membership.
 |
| Lady Beatrice Lister Kaye |
When Lady Beatrice Lister-Kaye addressed the gathering she
was
“warmly cheered”
as she took to the stage. She wished the club and the
bazaar every success and declared the event open.
After the opening an “excellent luncheon” was
served and later a “plain and meat tea” added to the evening refreshments.
As well as the sale of work and stalls
entertainments were provided throughout the day for the visitors. Comic farces,
minstrel players and music from Mr Ainley’ s Overture Band and members of the
Harmonic Vocal Quartet were all part of the amusements. On the second day the bazaar was re-opened by
Mrs T Kilner-Clark and the receipts at the end of the second day totalled £200
of which £120 had been taken the previous day.
When the committee
met the following week the income from the bazaar had risen to a total of £321
6s 3d for the building fund.
 |
Joseph Crosland
Huddersfield Exposed
|
The new club
building in Holly Bank Road, Lindley was formally opened by Sir Joseph Crosland
in November 1891. The building replaced
their former premises where they had been based for 20 years previously. It had been built from designs by Isaac
Hordern of Edgerton, in the Tudor style of architecture but adapted to fit the
times. It contained a large assembly room, a billiard room, reading room,
Primrose League Room, a conversation room and the caretaker’s house. The members themselves claimed that “the club
is one of the most complete of its kind in the borough.” The contractors for
the construction were –
L & H Fox – Masons
John Walker – Joiner
Alfred Crowther – Plumber
Pickles Bros – Slaters
Alfred Ecclesby – Plasterer
Calvert & Co – Heating apparatus
Earnshaw Bros – Painters.
The first
part of the ceremony took place outside the club where a
“crowd of fair
dimensions”
had gathered to witness the occasion. Including Sir Joseph others present were Mr W J Kaye, JP and vice president of the
club together with his wife; E C Waterhouse who was president of the new club; Edward Armitage, JP; James H Dransfield, B.
Ainley, club secretary; Edwin
Gledhill, A Gledhill and a large number of ladies.
Mrs W J Kaye had been asked to do the honours of
opening the club door and was presented with a gilded key inscribed
“Presented
to Mrs W J Kaye on the occasion of her opening the Lindley Conservative Club 14
November 1891.”
She then used the key to throw open the door of the building to
applause from the crowd. Mrs Kaye was an
“energetic member”
of the Primrose League, which had contributed £400 towards
the building fund of the new club and Mrs Kaye had been a driving force in the
project. Unusually for the time Mrs Kaye addressed the crowd herself and wished
the new club every success in promoting the Conservative cause.
A public meeting was held in the large
assembly room of the building after the formal ceremony where speeches were
made by a variety of people. When the
president addressed the meeting he referred to the fact that they had raised
over £1000 to the building fund for the new club which he would have thought
would have been an impossibility two years previously. The membership of the
club stood at 200 at that point and they were confident that the new building
would enable the club to grow even further. The ground on which the building
had been built was leasehold and they had to pay a small ground rent on it.
They still had outstanding debt on the building but Waterhouse stated that the
ground rent together with repayment of the debt
“would be considerably smaller
in proportion to the numbers of members than they had paid formerly in the
small premises.”
When Sir Joseph Crosland rose to speak he
was greeted with applause and he went on to praise their efforts and talk about
current political issues. The meeting
was followed by a dance which was enjoyed by everyone. Yorkshire Post 22 December 1890; Huddersfield Chronicle 23 December 1890, 3, 9. 10 & 17 October
1891, 16 November 1891
A more
unusual fundraiser was an amateur
“theatrical”
performance at the Lindley
Mechanics Hall by the Amateur Dramatic Company of John Marsden in February
1895. The programme consisted of a farce
(which were a great favourite for amateurs to perform at the time) entitled
“Turn him out”
and an original “go as you please musical sketch scene”
called
“Uncle Bootle’s Will”
written by
John and David Marsden.
The Marsden brothers had attained some local fame with
their previous writings at that time. The
price of tickets was 1s 6d, 1s or 6d with all the proceeds from the show going
to the Lindley Conservative Club. The production seems to have had good reviews
in both the Huddersfield Chronicle and Examiner.
“The curtain
was rung down to applause as hearty and enthusiastic as it was well-earned and
deserved……Once again a Marsden sketch has proved a distinct success in writing
and as great a one in acting” The
Chronicle.
“The whole
of the characters were exceptionally well represented. The sketch …..is intensely droll and
amusing.” The Examiner.
The weather
was bad on the night of the performance as well as the hall being known as
uncomfortable and Lindley as
“inaccessible to outsiders”
but despite all these
factors the audience was large and
“displayed an enthusiasm and an appreciation
of the efforts of the performers.”
During the interval Miss Middlemost
“delighted the audience”
with a song
“Whisper and I shall hear.”
The performances were given over two evenings at
the end of which John Marsden handed a cheque from the proceeds of £22 0s 3d to
the club. The show was to be repeated in support of the Military Band Bazaar a
week later. Huddersfield Chronicle 8, 9 & 16 February 1895
By the 1896 half
yearly meeting of the club trustees the report showed a reduction in their debt
of £35 and the purchase of a new billiard table. The accounts showed that they had a balance
in hand and were satisfactory.
The ladies
of the Primrose League continued their efforts on behalf of the League and the club and
in 1896 they purchased a piano for the use of club members. Funds had been raised for the purchase by a
number of events including a
“sale of work”
held in May of that year. E. C.
Waterhouse presided at the opening of the sale due to the illness of Benjamin
Ainley. He welcomed Mrs Demetriadi who performed
the opening ceremony. She was well known
in the area and had a great interest in the Primrose League.
To celebrate
the piano purchase the ladies hosted a
“meat tea and ball”
in October. Over 140
people attended the tea and the ball was said to be “crowded.” Huddersfield Chronicle 2 May, 15 July &
14 October 1896
Lectures
continued to be given in order to educate and inform members on the issues of
the day. In December 1896 W. J. Kaye, JP, delivered a lecture at the club on
the
“Venezuelan Boundary Question.”
He addressed a fairly large audience and
went deeply into his subject matter in
“a clear and pointed manner.”
There was
agreement by all at the finish that it had been “an instructive meeting.” Huddersfield Chronicle 19 December 1896
We think
that dancing until the early hours of the morning is a modern occurrence but
this was just the case when the “Dance Committee” of the club arranged a member’s
ball in January 1898.
It was held in the large assembly room of the club which
was decorated
“most tastefully”
with red, white and blue bunting and a large
numbers of “Japanese” lanterns to give it an appearance of an
“Eastern Palace.”
Dancing started at 8pm and continued through the night until 5am! Music was
provided by Mr Frank Haigh’s Band with Dan Dean and Geoffrey Crowther acting as
stewards during the evening. At 11pm everyone sat down to an
“excellent supper”
provided by Mrs Royston and served by the ladies. Edwin and George Royston were praised for
their
“energetic management!”
A similar ball in 1900 finished at the much earlier time of 1am! Huddersfield Chronicle 14 January 1898 & 29 December 1900
In July 1900
the club held a reception to welcome home one of their members from the Boer
war. Sergeant E. M. Ward had left for South Africa the previous January and
although his company had not been involved in the fighting they had travelled
through rebel country. He had been taken
ill whilst in South Africa and had been returned to the UK. The evening to
welcome him had taken the form of a “smoker” which the report said was popular
but no explanation of exactly what this meant.
However there was entertainment provided throughout the evening as the
report states that
“a company of good artistes accompanied by Sam Peel”
were
said to have provided “enjoyment” for the company. Huddersfield Chronicle 12 July 1900
 |
Lindley Conservative Ladies at the Huddersfield Town Hall Conservative Bazaar.
Leeds Mercury 3 May 1928
|
A large
Conservative Bazaar was held in Huddersfield Town Hall in May 1928 which was
opened by Mrs Stanley Baldwin. The
Conservative women from all around the town including ladies from Lindley had
worked hard to prepare work to sell on their stalls. The Lindley Conservative Ladies sold perfumery
and
“dainty handkerchiefs.”
Leeds
Mercury 3 May 1928
Lindley Conservative Club and WW1 - Private Charlie Whitaker.
Charlie
Whitaker was killed in action in 1918.
He was secretary of the Lindley Conservative Club and had worked as a foreman
finisher at Messrs Smith and Calverley.
He was a stretcher bearer in the Duke of Wellington Regiment which he and
had joined in November 1916. Huddersfield
Daily Examiner 17 April 1918
Although the
club building still exists it is no longer the Conservative Club it is now the Lindley Band Room on Holly Bank Road. Exactly when the club closed and why is not
known. More information will be added when available.
References -
Kelly's Directories 1893 & 1927
Lindley History Research Group.