Longwood Liberal Club
Longwood Liberal Club
Although Longwood Liberal Club itself was formed
in 1875, Longwood Liberal Association were meeting as early as February 1871 to promote
Liberal politics and principles. The
meeting was preceded by a tea, as did so many political meetings of the time,
held in the Baptist Meeting House.
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| Baptist meeting house at Longwood 1910 |
Around
300 people had tea and then progressed to the meeting held in the Mechanics
Hall. The chairman was William Shaw of Gilead Cottage who
would later go on to be the Liberal Club President. Alongside Shaw on the
platform was the Mayor of Huddersfield, Charles
Henry Jones (first Mayor of Huddersfield) and Wright Mellor who would become Mayor after him. Huddersfield Chronicle 18 February 1871
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| Wright Mellor |
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| Charles Henry Jones, First Mayor of Huddersfield |
The inaugural meeting was held on 21 November 1876
with a “knife and fork tea” being held in the Baptist Schoolroom followed by a
public meeting in the Mechanics Hall. Both events were crowded with friends,
family and supporters of the Liberal Club.
William Shaw, as the president of the club, chaired
the meeting. Joining him on the platform was the Liberal Member of Parliament
for Huddersfield, Edward Aldham Leatham
and other notable Liberals from around the district. David Sykes the secretary of
the club and former Mayor of Huddersfield 1874 to 1875, gave his report and the circumstance leading
up to the formation of the club. The club had been established in October 1875
and had reading and conversation rooms plus
a “commodious”
billiard room and a
committee room. He said that as soon as funds allowed the plan was to add
magazines, some reviews and a small library on
“political economy”
to the
reading room. The membership of the club stood at 106 members and 6 honorary
members. They had spent a great deal on the furnishing of the club and so were
“placed at a great disadvantage”
with a debt of £65. The club had the motto
“For the Liberals of Longwood.” Huddersfield
Chronicle 22 November 1876
A fire in the club rooms in November 1882 caused
around £120 of damage. The fire had been discovered by a local man, Hirst
Beaumont, as he passed the club rooms at about quarter past one in the
morning. He had raised the alarm
immediately and people had gathered at the scene. They got a hosepipe from the nearby Grove
Mills and attached it to the mains water supply. After about half an hour their efforts had
brought the blaze under control. The origin of the fire was unclear as the club
had been all right at 11pm when the members had left and it had been closed for
the night. Damage to the club furniture was estimated at £70 and damage to the
building at £50. The furniture was the
property of the Liberal Club and was insured.
However the building did not belong to the club but to William Wrigley and was not insured. Huddersfield Chronicle 7 November 1882
A few weeks later, in December, a fire at Prospect
Mills (Joseph Hoyle & Sons), was contained to just the mill before it could spread to the club rooms
which were only separated from the mill by a narrow passageway. The fire was
said to have been so fierce that it blistered the paint on the artisan houses which
were on the other side of the road, so the club was indeed lucky to have
escaped damage. Huddersfield Chronicle 9
December 1882
Scandal hit the club in August 1884 when George Broome
(teazer) was charged with embezzlement of funds which were the property of
Longwood Liberal Club Blanket Club. The
club had been formed for the benefit of Liberal Club members with the object of
providing them with blankets and other items by means of fortnightly
subscriptions or they could choose to have their money returned in cash. The
Liberal Club had run blanket clubs prior to this and always in the same manner without
any issues and George Broome had been the bank treasurer since 1880. Edwin
Armitage, a mill manager in Longwood and club member who have evidence at
the trial told the County Police court that they did this every year with new
people elected to run it and administer the fund.
This particular blanket club had started in July 1883
and John Dawson, club secretary, had
received £3 0s 9d at that date. They had
67 members in the club and any profits were given to Liberal Club funds. George Broome had been elected this
time to chairman of the club as well as bank treasurer and it was agreed that
he would pay the subscription regularly into the club bank account. Dawson had
given this money to George Broome as it was his job to deposit it in an account
in the Halifax Building Society by the end of each month. Regular monthly contributions
continued to be handed over to George to deposit until the end of June 1884
when he had received in total £123 11s 2d.
Edwin Armitage had informed George that he would give notice to the
Building Society in order that the funds could be withdrawn in June. George
said that he would do so and should have the funds by the 1st
July. However he failed to appear at any
future meetings at the club. When the Liberal Club managed to get hold of the
building society passbook for the fund deposits were shown up to 2 July 1883
but none had been made after that. Thirty
two members of the club had had blankets, others had had flannel and cloth and
the money remaining to be returned to members should have been around £70.
George should have paid the bills for the blankets etc. that had been received
but no payments had been made. Tom Beaumont, a woollen spinner and
club member gave evidence to the County Police court. He stated that he had paid 75s in total and
had received neither money nor goods and so was due a refund at the meeting on
the 4th July. George did not
attend this meeting and so nobody got their due refund. John Dawson, oil extractor of Longwood, and
cashier for the blanket club corroborated the duties that George should have
performed for the Blanket Club and the amounts of money that had been handed
over to him for banking. Henry Kilner, the secretary of the
Halifax Building Society told the court that no money had been paid into the
club account since February 1883 and on 2nd July 1883 George had
drawn the balance of £87 19s out of the account. George Broome was committed
for trial but was granted bail. George Broome appeared at the West Riding
Sessions for trial in October 1884, the judge was Mr Shaw, QC. He was charged
with
“feloniously embezzling and stealing £123 12s 2d."
He was found guilty and sentenced to three
months hard labour. Huddersfield Chronicle 16 August 1884; Shipley Times 16 August
1884; Yorkshire Post 22 October 1884; Leeds Times 25 October 1884
The club rooms were renovated and reopened on Saturday
3 October 1885 by Edward Aldham Leatham.
The event was celebrated by a procession
made up of Liberals from both Longwood and Outlane forming a parade down the
road towards Huddersfield to meet Edward
Aldham Leatham who was accompanied by Henry
Frederick Beaumont amongst others. They then walked to the new club rooms
in Longwood Gate, where they held a short meeting led by Thomas Dawson, club president. A longer public meeting was held in
the evening at the Mechanics Hall where a variety of speeches were made to the
large audience.
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| Longwood Gate in 1910 showing the Mechanic's Hall on the right with wooden porch. and Joseph Hoyle's Mill in the background. (Kirklees Image Archive) |
Later in the year, during Christmas week, a bazaar was
held by the club, in the Longwood Mechanic’s Institution with the aim of
defraying a debt of £450 accumulated by the purchase of new premises and also to
make up a loss of £130 after the treasurer of the blanket club had
absconded with the money. Massive
preparations had been made for the event and the Mechanics h
Hall had been
“handsomely decorated”
by the ladies who were family and friends
of members and a large number of them attended a range of stalls which were
“crowded with choice articles.”
Banners with mottoes and names of prominent
Liberal politicians adorned the walls and platforms. Portraits of many
prominent were displayed for sale including Gladstone and General Gordon. A variety of other attractions were provided.
Mrs Joseph Woodhead of Longdenholme , the wife of Alderman Woodhead, MP, opened the
bazaar. Mrs Woodhead addressed the crowds and sad she
wished to speak especially to the women who
“were called upon by the men to
help them in such ways as the bazaar, but who had not yet had the vote given to
them.”
She went on to advise women to study history and politics in order to
prepare themselves to vote. The stall were
run by the ladies and entertainments were given at intervals throughout the
day.
The bazaar raised a total of £200 after the expenses had been paid. Huddersfield Chronicle 10 October & 26 December 1885; Leeds
Mercury 26 December 1885; Leeds Times 26 December 1885 & 9 January 1886
As a change from political meetings and the
renovations, the club held a purely social evening with supper on Christmas Eve
1886 in the “lodge room”. A substantial
Christmas “supper” was served to around 160 members and friends after which the
room was cleared as
“the company assembled for their evening’s enjoyment.”
After a variety of toasts had been made to
the Queen and the government the remainder of the evening was spent in dancing
and songs by a variety of club members. The evening came to a close at around
midnight concluded with a
“Christmas hymn”.
The supper was prepared and served by members, more than likely the
women folk as was usual! All the
proceeds of the evening were to go towards a fund supplying
“a few baths in
connection with the club.”
Whether this
was to install bathrooms in the club or pay for baths to be had is unclear. Huddersfield Chronicle 1 January 1887
Meetings preceded by a “knife and fork tea” appear to
have been a popular and regular occurrence for the club often reported as
having a good attendance such as one in April 1887 and another in March 1889.
Tea was often served in the Longwood Baptist Meeting House or Schoolroom with
the public meeting being held in the Mechanics Hall. Leeds
Mercury 18 April 1887 Huddersfield Chronicle 16 March 1889
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Joseph Hoyle's Factory with the clock tower in 1910.
Kirklees Image Archive
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Longwood Gate with Joseph Hoyle's Mill in background. 1910.
Kirklees Image Archive
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In April 1892, another fire at the adjoining mill of
Joseph Hoyle & Sons, woollen manufacturers, was more catastrophic in the
amount of damage that it caused. The mill and the club stood in Longwood Gate
which was the main thoroughfare of the township, about a hundred yards below
the Mechanics Hall and the Police station.
Immediately opposite the mill was a row of
“small tenements”
including
the Post Office and on the other side a row of small houses. In one of these small houses lived the
caretaker of the Liberal club Thomas Pogson.
The Liberal Club stood immediately next door to the mill with a steep
incline behind which were open fields. The mills itself was of a considerable
size spreading along the roadside and having five floors and a hundred or more
windows. It had various outbuildings and
running from the top end of the main building were long weaving sheds. Beyond these were other outbuildings
including stock room and a dyeing room. At the rear of the building was a two
roomed building containing scribbling machinery and spinning mules. Hoyle had only been in possession of the
building for three years, due to the mill be destroyed in the fire of
1882. The fire had broken out around 4pm
and was caused by friction on one of the scribbling machines. Its rapid spread was unexpected and they were
unable to contain it as it gained
“formidable strength”.
As soon as the window glass began to shatter
the fire gained in intensity fanned by a stiff breeze blowing up the valley.
Some 150 people, men and girls had to be evacuated
quickly from the building. Fortunately
they all got out before the staircases were
“imperilled.”
The steam whistle of
the mill was sounded for assistance and an urgent message telephoned to
Huddersfield to alert the borough firemen. The fire blazed unchecked through
the building with the steam whistle screaming loudly and attracting huge
crowd. After a quarter of an hour the
scene was said to be
“almost indescribable.”
Three storeys of the building
including 80 windows burned like a huge furnace with windows
“belching out”
masses of leaping flames.
The various fire brigades arrived and got to work.
The first were the Huddersfield men who arrived 20 minutes after the alarm
call. Then the brigades of Taylor & Son of Golcar, Armitage Bros of
Milnsbridge arrived not long after, followed by the steamer from Huddersfield
bringing with it more firemen and constables. Unfortunately when the firemen
got to work they discovered that the water supply was totally insufficient to
cope with the scale of the fire. The two water mains could not provide enough
water or pressure to cope and so an army of volunteer manned pumps at a nearby
mill pool. Regrettably the supply was still inadequate due to the high level at
which the mill stood and so the fire continued to grow in strength.
The heat increased and jets of fire burst through the
windows and roof whilst masonry fell and caused other local outbreaks in the
buildings. Eventually another floor collapsed and the second storey was
enveloped in flames. The surrounding
buildings and homes were then in danger.
The firefighter’s poured water on the weaving sheds, the post office and
the Liberal Club in an attempt to save them from the flames. The telegraph wires had burned and the heat
scorched the front of the adjoining houses and across the width of the street
where they
“smoked and fumed.”
At 4.55pm
there was another “startling” development as the side walls of the building
bent and cracked and then with a
“deafening roar tons upon tons of solid masonry
poured down onto the ground.”
Dust and steam rose over the ruins and everyone
thought there would be a boiler explosion and so fled the scene. Although the
steam continued to pour out of the ruins no explosion came. When the steam cleared only two ends of the
mills were still standing together with the chimney. The road was blocked by the fallen wall on
one side the other wall had destroyed the two storey building to the rear. It was obvious that the two remaining walls
would not stay up for long and were dangerous.
The firemen continued to spray the fire with the meagre water supplies
until another wall crashed down where the fire was raging the hottest. The
second remaining wall soon followed. This fell away from the weaving sheds,
part into the burning mass and part into the back of the building doing yet
more damage. All that then remained was the chimney and a narrow column of
wall. As the dust began to settle the
remaining section of wall fell in one solid mass onto the roof of the Liberal
Club, which had only just been cleared of the remaining people a few minutes
before. An impenetrable cloud of black dust accompanied the fall and when it
cleared a
“sorry sight”
met the Liberal Club member’s eyes. The club premises had been completely
demolished by the fall. The roof was
scattered on the bottom floor and the wall were levelled to the ground. The
whole building was a
“shapeless mass of debris.”
A few more minutes and the
destruction of the mill was complete as the final two columns crashed to the
ground and the flames stills blazed. The
fire had been blazing for over two hours and everything except for the weaving
sheds had been destroyed including the Liberal Club which formed one part of an
unbroken mass of ruins. As people examined the surrounding building they
discovered the damage done to homes. Two houses had been set alight by flying
fragments but had been extinguished quickly before it became serious. People in
houses that had been perceived as in danger had cleared out their possessions
and placed them well away in the surrounding fields. The telegraph and
telephone wires were all destroyed and communication from the Post Office cut
off. The road was impassable. Damage to
the mill and stock was initially estimated at £15000 but after allowing for the
demolished Liberal club, shattered house, and other minor damages and injuries
the estimate rose to around £20,000 worth of damage. Joseph Hoyle & Sons
rebuilt the mill , enlarging it over the old liberal club site but were struck
again by a fire the following July, this time destroying the finishing room and
warehouse area with a total damage of around £14000. A new and larger mill was
then erected in its place once again.
A few months after the 1892 fire, like a phoenix the
Liberal Club laid the cornerstones of a new club building on Saturday 6 August
1892. The formal ceremony was made by Mrs.
J. Whiteley Shaw and Mrs. Abel
Buckley in the presence of a large crowd of people. Sir James Kitson MP was to have attended but he was detained by
Parliamentary duties on the day. However many prominent Liberals from the area
did attend. The site chosen was close to
the old premises which had been destroyed in the fire. The ceremony had begun
with a procession through Longwood led by the Scapegoat Hill Brass Band. Joseph
Whiteley Shaw presided over the occasion and announced that the Mayor of
Huddersfield, Reuben Hirst would not be able to join them. The new building was
designed by architect Sanderson M.
Balmford and the builders were Messrs. H. Firth & Co. The basement of the new building was to be
the caretaker’s quarters. On the other
floors there would be an entrance hall, a bar and rooms for conversation,
games, reading and billiards. The front
of the building was to be of Elland Edge pitch faced stone and ashlar dressings
with a balcony over the entrance.
Contractors for the building were
James Bamford – Joiner
T. Allison – plumber
W. Armitage – plasterer
Messrs W. & S Thornton – to fix hot water
apparatus.
The total cost of the building and furnishings was
estimated at £1220. The committee had
£655 and there had been £152 subscribed by members. This would leave the club
with a debt of around £413 which they hope to reduce to £200 before the
premises were completed. There had been 113 members on the books at the time of
the fire and during their temporary housing at the Mechanic Hall this had risen
to 129. Mrs Shaw and Mrs Buckley were
presented with a silver trowel and a mallet each, after which they both
addressed the crowd.
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| Sir James Kitson, MP. |
The new club was completed three years later and in
December 1894 was opened with all due ceremony by Sir James Kitson MP. Initially Edward
John Chalmers Morton, MP, of
Devonport, had been invited to do the honours but he had wanted to impose
conditions which the committee were unable to approve. The final cost of the building and its new furnishings
was £1310 and the club was left with a debt of £403 still to be raised. The club membership had risen to 175 by the
day of the opening ceremony. People lined the street outside the building to
witness the event. E. Stevenson, chairman of the club, presented Sir James with a
silver gilt key and he proceeded to open the main entrance of the
building. Sir James inspected the
various rooms and then went into the billiard room where he addressed the crowd
assembled outside from the balcony, which was at the front of the building. After
the formal opening a tea was held in the Baptist schoolroom followed by a
meeting in Woodland Mills. Once again
there was a large audience which was again addressed by Kitson. Leeds Mercury 5 April & 5 August 1892; Huddersfield
Chronicle 9 April, 8 August 1892, 22 July 1893 & 3 December 1894.
Lectures and meetings were held regularly in the large
room of the new club with varying sizes of audience. In February 1895 when G. E. Dixon addressed a “fair” audience
on the subject of
“The battle of standards.”
Joseph Whiteley Shaw the club
president was in the chair. Another in February 1896 commanded a larger
audience as the club celebrated the local victory for the Liberal Party and
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| Sir James Thomas Woodhouse, MP. |
Sir James Thomas Woodhouse, MP for
Huddersfield, spoke to the crowd about current political issues. Huddersfield
Chronicle 16 February 1895 & 24 February 1896.
In 1896 the club had its license renewed by the Chief
Constable of Leeds Fred T Webb. Leeds Mercury 9 December 1896
In February 1896 the Liberal Club met to celebrate the
victory of the Liberal Party at the general and municipal elections. The
celebrations were held in the Mechanics Institute and addresses were made to a
very crowded room. Leeds Mercury 24
February 1896
The club held a number of purely social events such as
the tea and social held in September 1896. The tea was given by Mrs Thomas Shaw and Mrs Ben Tweed to around 80 members and
friends. After the tea a variety of entertainments were performed by people
including piano duets and clarinet solos.
Another tea was given in the club room in November
1896 which was provided by Mr & Mrs William
Eastwood. There was a very good
attendance for what was reported as an
“excellent tea”
and £1 11s 10d was
raised by the event. The proceeds from
both events were for the Christmas Bazaar Fund.
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| Alison Vickers Garland |
On the Monday
following the tea party a lecture was given at the club by Miss Alison Vickers Garland of Plymouth, a suffragist and lecturer speaking on behalf of the
“Bi-Metallic
League.”
She spoke on the subject of
“Bi-Metallism.”
She had also given the same talk the previous Thursday at Lindley
Liberal Club. It was reported that there
was only a small audience but that they were “greatly interested” in her
remarks with many questions being asked and answered at the end of the talk.
Alison Garland went on to be a Liberal Politician standing for election several
times. Huddersfield
Chronicle 23 September, November & 8 December 1896
The club held many fundraising events over it lifetime
including a
“Grand Bazaar”
over the Christmas period, 25, 26 and 27 December
1890 to raise much needed funds.
Another bazaar to raise funds in October 1907 was
opened by W. P. Raynor, president of
the club. He addressed the crowd at the bazaar with reference to some remarks
that had been made at Outlane the previous day by Victor Grayson, MP referring to him as
“a youthful and somewhat
impetuous Member of Parliament for a neighbouring constituency.”
To raise funds in February 1924 the club turned to
holding a Sale of Work. This was opened
by Ernest Woodhead of Huddersfield
who was standing as the Liberal candidate for Hillsborough Division of
Sheffield. It was stated at the event
that the Longwood Liberal Club was the only Liberal club in the area that did
not sell “intoxicants!”
At another bazaar held by the club in February 1932 William Mabane, MP, officiated and
spoke on the current political affairs affecting the borough including import
duties and the taxation of food stuffs. Huddersfield
Chronicle 29 March 1890, Leeds Mercury 10 October 1907, Leeds Mercury 25
February 1924, Yorkshire Post 29 February 1932
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Fire at Joseph Hoyle's Mill.
Yorkshire Post 1944
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“old mill”,
a three storey building as well as other
buildings in the mill complex including the scouring, milling rooms, dye house
and tentering. It was believed that the fire had broken out in the scribbling room
on the second floor of the main building beneath one of the scribbling
machines. The blaze caught hold within minutes and by the time the fire service
had arrived it had a firm hold on the property and had enveloped the whole
building by 12.30pm. Shortly after this it had spread to not only other mill
buildings but to neighbouring houses across the road from the mill including
the Liberal Club. The thirty families that inhabited the houses were quickly
evacuated and it was feared that all the houses and the club would be
destroyed. The fire service had the fire under control by 4.30am at which time
four of the houses in Longwood Gate had been destroyed along with Longwood
Liberal Club building. It was reported that the club building at that time was
being used as a store, but it is unknown what was stored there or by whom but
it would infer that the premises were not being used as a Liberal Club at that
point and had ceased to exist sometime in the early 1940s. Yorkshire Post 28 April 1944
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Joseph Hoyle's Mill 1970s.
Kirklees Image Archive
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Joseph Hoyle's Mill 1970s
Kirklees Image Archive
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