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Early History
Midgley near Halifax lies below Midgley Moor at an elevation
of 230 metres in the parish of Halifax in the Liberty of Wakefield.
The settlement is one of a number of hill top villages which also
gives its name to the township of Midgley. There is evidence on Midgley
Moor of Neolithic and Bronze Age remains such as "Churn Milk Joan", the
"Greenwood Stone", "Miller's Grave" and "Robin Hood's Penny Stone" [See below].
There is a hamlet of Midgley further east near Wakefield which
appears to have formed part of the Honour of Pontefract after the Norman
Invasion, however the Midgley settlement in the Halifax locality was part
of the western division of the Wakefield Manor.The name appears in Domesday
Book as Micleie.
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Other spellings include, Miclei, Miggeley, Miglay, Miggely, Migeley. Following
Domesday the name is then first recorded in 1207. See variations in d
minor
Lying on the north side of the river Calder the township was bounded
on the west by Foster Clough and on the east by the Luddenden stream. One
of the oldest churches in the area St. Mary's (ca.1620) in the village of
Luddenden lies within its boundaries. It has also strong connections with
Methodism, John Wesley having stayed at Ewood Hall on numerous occasions.3
Midgley is sited at the convergence of the Calder Pass and the Roman
road from Manchester via Blackstone Edge to Ilkley and Aldborough.
This road appears to have been built A.D. 122-125 and replaced the road through
Castleshaw and Slack which was built earlier in A.D. 79-80. The Blackstone
Edge road is the road the Romans used to transport lead from Greenhow
Moor near Pateley Bridge in the northern Pennines, south past Midgley where
it is sited now, down the steep Blackstone Edge where the incline is still
cobbled with large stone blocks. The road would have also been a frontier
and rapid transport route for troops into the Brigantian highlands. This
road was being costructed at the time Hadrian's wall was being erected which
was a time of increasing raids from the Picts11.
The Romans did not use the obvious east-west passage offered by the
Calder Pass which could be easily attacked by bands of Brigantian warriors
sweeping down from the surrounding moorlands, but preferred a direct line
to Aldborough (Isurium Brigantium) in the north. This road somewhat paralled
the one from Manchester and Chester through Castleshaw, Pule Hill, Slack
(Camulodunum 80-140A.D.) Cleckheaton (Cambodunum) to York (Eboracum).
The Romans were losing control earlier here than in the rest of Britain
towards the end of their 
tenure. Roman signal stations were still manned in the closing years
of the 300's on the Yorkshire coast to give alarm at the approach of the
Anglian pirates. In the early 400's troops were withdrawn to defend Rome.
In 410 the emperor Honorius wrote to the British towns telling them to defend
themselves, the garrison at York was ordered back to the continent.
Anglian Incursions
Aethelfrith is likely to have made incursions into the district with
the withdrawal of the Roman garrisons and decay of rule. In
617 he moved rapidly down the Roman road from the the North Yorkshire Wolds
and York through Slack, Castleshaw and Manchester to achieve a decisive battle
over the British at Chester.This battle separated the Northern British resistance
from the Welsh British forces and allowed the Anglians to control the West
coast of what is now Lancashire.
In 620 Edwin struck at the small British Kingdom of Elmete and
colonisation in the West Yorkshire region probably became effective from
this time. Anglian townships or villages would have begun to appear first
along river banks and later groups progressing further inland.
The navigable limit on the Aire, Calder etc. would have limited the
passage by ship, thus the earlier settlements are seen as being downstream.
However it is recognised that early settlement by Anglians occurred in
the Yorkshire Wolds and incursions may have occurred from here.
By 1050 the region was under the direct control of Edward ("The
Confessor"), we know this because William I took them over as his own and
gave the lands to De Laci and
Warrene.
Earl Warrene was found to be Earl at the time of Kirby's inquest. It
remained in this family until the last earl gave it, with the manor of Wakefield
to the crown3.
See map of Wakefield Manor Western Division
Midgley near Halifax, Miclei1 or Micleie2
is mentioned in the Domesday book (Dom Boc 1086) as one of the
nine beriwicks (berewics*) belonging to the Lordship of Wakefield. By
the 1100's Migelaia2is recorded for the hamlet of Midgley
near Wakefield. The name may have originated in Micel
or Mycel in O.E. and O. Scandinavian Mikill meaning
"great or large", The suffix -leah in O.E. means 'wood, woodland
clearing or glade', later a pasture or meadow4.
[*A berewic O.E. meaning 'a barley or corn farm and later an outlying
grange or demesne farm']
Midgley commands a wide view across the Calder valley and had the advantage
that early Anglian settlers may have used the derelict Roman road for movement.
The village sits at a point where the steep sided Calder valley changes
to a broad open vista north towards Booth.
As this line of communication further declined the haphazard pattern
of tracks now represented by local roads would no doubt have developed.
Some of these tracks may represent the boundaries of former fields. The
prescence of baulked perimeters would support this. However John Franklin
Midgley states there is little evidence of these Anglian field systems [a
furlong or furrow long, 200 yards, and a chain wide 22 yards]
Field patterns between Midgley and Luddenden |
Click for enlarged map
This township appears to pre-date another Midgley hamlet near Wakefield
which is first mentioned as Migelaia4 in the 1100's
which in 1577 appeared as Mydgeley in Christopher Saxton's
map of Yorkshire. A later spelling in the 1700's recorded it as Mygeley.
Anyone with this surname today knows the exasperation of having
to spell it out for writers.
It was not until lexicographers in the late 1700's such as Johnson began
to standardise the spelling of words and compulsory education was
introduced in the late1800's that accepted spellings evolved.
This may explain the many spelling differences American English and native
English exhibit today, migration to the Americas having occurred before dictionary
standardisation.
It might also be mentioned in passing that the popularity of English
over the Chinese language recently is in no small way due to communication
through the internet, a place that was originally reserved for Esperanto.
We have John Tindale, writer of King James' I's bible version to thank
for the simplicity of English with all its richness, John is quoted as wanting
to "make the bible able to be read even by a ploughboy'.
Due to illiteracy, the place- and sur- name like many others was not
standardised but merely recorded by a second party in a phonetic style.We
see this in the way the Domesday scibes attempted to literate the local
Anglian pronunciations.
It would appear that if we try to pronounce say Miclei and Migelaia
they sound different. They may in fact be two derivations which have become
convergent in their spelling. Miclei could sound more like Migleah, with
a hard "g" as in granite, whereas Migelaia may have the softer "g"
as in gelignite! Whatever the original pronunciation the convergence
of spelling is only relatively recent and may explain the fact that
we have today two villages/hamlets in Yorkshire with ostensibly the same
name but different locations and histories.But see Sir William Midgley
Other surnames names that appear in the locality are Schepard, Paget,
Vornvall [Wormald], Fletcher[ a person who made arrows],Townend, Waldesworth
[Wadsworth], Okes, Dickonson, Saltonstall, de Burgh, Culpon, and Lemanskill.
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Midgley near Halifax from the air
Source: Google Earth |
Within the township of Midgley lies Brearley Hall
described as "an ancient mansion of the Midgley Family"5. This
building's history is likely to hold many clues to the early Midgley
family which probably pre-dates the Norman conquest.
It was supplanted by the Norman family Sotehill and known to be held
by this family in 1326 (Brearley Old Hall).
However it would appear that the ownership entered the De Laci family,
records show that a daughter of the Sotehill's , Johanna Sotehill, married
Gilbert Lacy the second son of John Lacy. Gilbert Lacy's daughter married
Henry Murgatroyd.
The Lord of Midgley in the early 1500's was a Hugh Lacy (a branch
of the Norman De
Laci family) who was born about 1489 at Brearley Hall and whose will
was proved in 1570. He had married Agnes Saville of the Savilles of Thornhill.'
Hugh and Agnes Lacy's daughter, Margaret, born abt. 1530 married William
Ferror [yeoman born abt. 1514] their child was John Farrer esq. born about
1550 at Ewood Hall. Ewood Hall, is a single house with its estate
in the township of Midgley.
Early Industry
In 1371 a John de Midgley is recorded in the Wakefield Rolls as being
a constable for the township [the Yorkshire name for a village] of Midgley1.This
may be the same John de Midgley who is mentioned as having the occupation
of a "cissor" [tailor]. There is also a reference to a John Dente a "textor"
[weaver]. These two occupational terms bear witness to the early domestic
manufacture of woollen goods in the 1300's Initially the soft water used
for scouring the wool from the moors was the location factor but later
the coalfields of West Yorkshire conspired with water power to locate woollen
manufacture to the valley bottoms18.
John Hesketh hypothesises that the Midgley's of Barnsley originated
from the Midgley near Halifax. His reasons are that the linen industry
in Barnsley lasted from 174 to 1957, and as this developed, local bleachers
encouraged cotton industry workers from Lancashire and Chehire as well
as experienced weavers from the Halifax area to settle there.21
John Watson in "The Histories and Antiquities of the Parish of Halifax
in Yorkshire" 1775 states:
"The Midgley's of Midgley were once a family of some tolerable account
who owned much of the land in Midgley, but I can give the reader no better
pedigree of them than what we may meet in Thoreby's "Topography "
In a return for Midgley Township (1763-4) there were 217 families and
224 houses, seven being empty. It is estimated that if each family averaged
5 members per household there would have been 1,085 inhabitants. They were
mainly farmers (livestock, barley, rye oats and woollen manufacture- each
house had a loom and spinning wheel)
In September 1824 there were massive landslides in Luddenden Dean below
Midgley Moor.
During the 1830's a dispute occurred between Lancashire and Yorkshire
(not the first!) over the positioning of the county boundary to the north
of the township.
Churn Milk
Joan
Also known as Churn Milk Peg and Savile's Low, is located on Midgley
Moor. It is a 6' 9" high stone pillar -probably a boundary marker. The stone
is claimed to spin round three times on New Year's Eve. It is said to be
named after a milk-maid who died whilst carrying milk to the villages here.
Peter Evans speculates that this stone could have been erected by Danish
[Viking] settlers as delineating their lands..
There is also a legend that a penny placed on the stone will bring good
luck, no doubt to the person that finds it!.
Peter has found boundary marker stones at such places as Pole Stoop
and Sutton Stoop on Haworth Moor and a boundary stone on Oxenhope Stoop
Hill. The word Stoop originates from Old Norse meaning 'post'.
The Greenwood
Stone
This may be a property boundary stone named from the Greenwood family.
Malcolm Bull has it as erected in the 1500's to mark the boundary
between Midgley and Wadsworth townships. This was established following a
dispute which arose between Sir George Savile and John Lacy in 1594, both
Lords of the manor. The date 1779 has been cut into the west side, this occurred
after a beating of the bounds was carried out by Heptonstall Grammar
School. The stone is sited on Midgley Moor at Ordance Survey reference SE
017 285. The surface appears fresher and more angular which suggests this
later age. See The Knyght
at the Lee for the possible derivation of this name*. The Greenwood
standing stone is about 4-5 ft tall24. Peter Evans23
who has supplied the photographs describes this landmark as a "Roughly
dressed stone about 4ft high carrying an engraved date '1775', leaning badly
just a few yards away and slightly further North of a smaller stone".
Peter now finds that this smaller stone is no longer standing . This smaller stone at
SE 016 284 and the Miller's Grave mound
are near the Greenwood Stone. Peter describes the smaller stone as
apparently a "standing stone from the Bronze Age, possibly at the centre
of a stone circle and probably recently re-erected".
There is also what appears to be a glacal erratic22
at SE 018 284. "A stone of similar type and size to the large stones
capping Miller's Grave but partly broken up - it could be entirely natural
or it may be a Neolithic or Bronze Age standing stone. This is the closest
of the three stones to the Miller's Grave" and can be seen in the distant
background on the Miller's Grave photograph23 .
* Peter Evans who is making a study of standing stones
on the Pennines suggests that the Greenwood Stone is named after the Greenwood
family who built Stone House, Todmorden between 1746 and 1749. There
is a huge megalith which stands near the house but it is suspected that
it was erected along with others by the Greenwood family. The present owner
confirmed to Peter Evans that this was a "folly" of the 1700's-1800's. The
resident thinks the other two stones were erected by Icelandic settlers
[876-954 AD] after which the Danish/Vikings tended to erect stone crosses
to mark their lands. Peter also suggests that there may be a relationship
between The Greenwood Stone on Midgley Moor and this family. See Midgley-Greenwood coat
of arms.
Miller's
Grave
This is a mound or tumulus on Midgley Moor which appears to have had
the overburden eroded leaving the cist or stone burial chamber in a chaotic
state. The Greenwood Stone is nearby.
Robin Hood's Penny Stone
On Midgley Moor at Wainstalls there is a large boulder described by
the historian Watson. It is said to be a meeting place for Robin Hood.
This may have been a plague stone [the first great plague began in 1348
in Edward III's reign]
- where those inflicted with the plague placed money - soaked in vinegar
to disinfect the coins - in exchange for food left by those yet unaffected
by the disease.- from Calderdale web pages
Peter Evans has evidence that Robin Hood's Penny Stone may have been
broken up by road builders.
Certainly, archaeological excavation may reveal the authenticity or
otherwise of these megaliths.
From: The Ancient Halls of Halifax 1913
In the 1881 census the following entry appears:
Dwelling: Booth Terrace
Census Place: Midgley, York, England
Source: FHL Film 1342056 PRO Ref RG11
Piece 4418 Folio 77 Page 14
Marr Age Sex Birthplace
Squire MIDGLEY M 26 M Midgley, York, England
Rel: Head
Occ: Stone Quarry Man
Hannah MIDGLEY M 26 F Midgley, York, England
Rel: Wife
Fred MIDGLEY 1 m M Midgley, York, England
Pace-egging is thought to relate to the ancient mumming plays. Each
man or Jolly-boy, would adorn himself with brightly coloured ribbons, animal
skins, rags and strips of paper the reason for which seems to go back to
The Crusades. Dramas are enacted by young men and boys often involving St.
George, a formalised battle, death, revival by a comic doctor [see photo]
with alms being collected at the culmination of each play19.
The Old Tosspot carried a long straw tail that had been stuffed full of pins. He would swing it wildly about, acting as though he were drunk, and wait for some poor unsuspecting fool to try and catch hold of the tail or be tapped by it, all in good humour, but also to encourage people to toss things into his basket. When the Pace-eggers received sufficient eggs or money in the basket, the group would temporarily stop and present a short play and dance. Usually an additional reward for the presentation would be given to the group by a member of the public, such as a glass of beer if performing outside a public house. Once the play was completed and everone was satisfied, the group would proceed through the area until the entire village had been travelled. Normally the Pace-eggers would attract quite a large group of followers by the end of their promenade as each presentation was sure to be different and build upon the last
Here's one or two jolly boys all of one mind
We've come Pace-egging, I hope you'll prove kind
I hope you'll prove kind with your eggs and strong beer
And we'll come no more nigh you until next year.
Meeting a rival band of Pace-eggers could lead to a lot of competitive
friendly exchanges or "egging" with the passing of witty jibes between
the groups with occasional attempts to steal the eggs. Perhaps this is where
the expression "to egg someone on" originated.
Sometimes the groups would also have wooden swords that could also be
used to poke friendly fun at the rival group.The sword in England is said
to relate to St. George who is traditionally seen as a protector of justice.
It has been known for Pace-eggers to walk away with a couple of scratches
when the exchanges have become a little too over-enthusiastic as you might
expect!14
External link to Calderdale
Images site
Midgley has relics of a Pinfold where stray animals or sheep were held
[see drawing], stocks, a communal well ["Town Syke"] a stretchergate and
a workhouse15.
Other Inns in the district run by Midgley's:
Sportsman Inn, Kel Coat, Stainland Innkeeper 1845: William Midgley
Sportsman, Stansfield, Todmorden Innkeepers: 1822: William Midgley
and John Hargrave
White Lion Inn, Illingworth Innkeeper 1845: Ellen Midgley
Stansfield (D.B.-Stansfeld)
O.E. personal name + feld meaning 'open land of a man called Stan'
A town in the parish of Halifax only 12 miles from Rochdale in Lancashire
and ten miles from Halifax.
The earliest records in the world of the surname Midgley is used in
Pipe Rolls which are as follows:
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Thomas de Midgley born circa 1154, probably of Stansfeld. Mrs. Thomas de Midgley born about 1156. Also Agnes Midgley born circa 1176 of Stansfeld.12 |
A hundred years later: Agnes Midgley born circa 1275 12. A study
of the appearance of the surname in West Yorkshire indicates a movement of
people towards Halifax.
In the township lies Stansfield Hall
in the valley of Todmorden. This was originally the seat of a Norman
who accompanied William I to England, Wyan Marmions who was
given land here by Earl Warrene. The Warrene's main seat was the castle of
Reigate with lands at Lewes in Surrey holding lordship over the
Wakefield Manor. Also within the township lies Field Head a farm-house.
Stansfield has neolithic sites such as The Hawkstones and The Bride
Stone etc.
The Bride Stone consists of one upright stone or pillar, called the
Bride, which has a height of about five metres, a diameter of about three
metres and the pedestal is about half a metre diameter.Near this stood
another large stone called The Groom which prior to 1823 had been pulled
down by the locals. Not far away on the old Common are many large and small
rocks scattered about which Dr. Stukeley an antiquarian of the 1700's described
as 'something like a temple of the serpentine kind"5
Luddenden Dean
A village on the stream of Luddenden Dean uphill from Luddenden, which
itself is uphill from Luddenden Foot.
Some individuals are mentioned as living in Luddenden Dean in 18503:
1.Thomas Midgley ,Victoria House Shop 3.
2.John Midgley [John o’ the Lords*], Nunnery Farm 3.
3.Jonathan Midgley, Clough Farm Cottage. 3 batchelors.
4.Peter Midgley, Fulshaw Farm. 2 persons
[*nick-name- a reference to the Lordship of Brearley Hall or Kershaw
House?]
Luddenden
Luddenden is so deep in Calderdale that the sun does not find it after
October7.St. Mary's the Luddenden chapel in Midgley, and was
built about 1496, The church was consecrated in August 1624 by two priests,
the Reverends Greenwood and Walsh the service being attended by James Murgatroyd,
William Midgley, Thomas and Jasper Lacy, Gilbert Deane and Gregory Patchett
The Church was rebuilt in 1814 [or 1816] on the same site.18
In 1825 Robert Midgley (sen.) and Robert Midgley (jun.) were both
mentioned as trustees of the Luddenden Church16. In the churchyard
there is a headstone to Robert Midgley which has re-used an earlier sundial,
the original in recycling.21 There is also the oldest gravestone
in the churchyard belonging to a Midgley dated 1625, one year after the
church was conscrated.21
Luddenden Foot.
Is situated on the Calder river, it is protected from the northerly
winds by Midgley Moor Luddenden Foot was developed faster than Luddenden
with the arrival of the Rochdale canal (1794-1802) from Sowerby Bridge to
Manchester and later extended in 1828 to Halifax.
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Kershaw House at Luddenden
Foot.
This is believed to have been built by a Midgley family in 1605. The
House stands on the site first mentioned in the Wakefield Manorial Rolls
in 1307 when it was known as Kirkshaugh, an Anglian word meaning church
copse.The later Kershaw House built on the same site was built by the Midgley's
in 1605, two years after the death of Elizabeth I.
There are two double story porches one with a rose window above
and another with a priest holea secret chamber often used in houses of this
age which was built as a hiding place for Catholic priests after they had
been proscribed or banned by Henry VIII.
The rose window was added in 1650 by Thomas Murgatroyd and his wife
Anne who left their initials carved in stone beneath the window. Legend
has it that two nuns who were decapitated here can be seen each year riding
in a carriage up the hill to the house. John Midgley at Kershaw House
May 1990
The priest hole lies inside one of two double storey porches. The second
porch at the front has a rose window. The rose window may have been added
in 1650 by Thomas Murgatroyd and his wife Anne, who left their mark by
carving their initials T.M. A.M. in a dated stone beneath the window.
There are bee holes (bee hives) which are in the wall over which a basket
was placed so a honeycomb could be formed. The building now has a grade
one rating by the Historic Buildings Commission.
The Murgatroyd family also built East Riddlesden Hall in the 1600's
which similarly boasts a rose window. The East Riddlesden property covered
over 200 acres and is the birth place of Dennis Healy a cabinet minister
in the Labour government of the 1980's.
In 1538 names were beginning to be officially recorded in parish registers.
See Midgley
names for Parish Register of Halifax
The earliest church register of Midgley names given for the township
of Midgley were Anthony, Richard and William 10.
The earliest marriage given here is between John and Isabella Midgley
4th February 1541.
Common first names for males were John, Thomas, William, Robert and
Richard and for females, Agnes, Isabella, Elizabeth, Anne, Marion, Margaret
and Alicia.
It may be that the Midgley family at Kershaw House were supporters of
Charles I and lost the Kershaw estate in the Great Civil War (1642),
when Oliver Cromwell removed Catholics from their properties and installed
Protestant owners.
A physician, Dr. Samuel Midgley of Luddenden [d.1695]. was
in prison for debt three
times at Halifax, during his time in jail he wrote a "History of Halifax-
The Halifax Gibbett in its True Light". Whilst in jail he met Oliver Heywood,
he later died in Halifax jail. The book was published after his death
by William Bentley.
Another unfortunate resident of Luddenden Dean was a Methodist preacher,
Thomas Midgley [1814-1897] who is recorded as dying after falling over
a wall on his way home from an evening prayer meeting.
At Luddenden Foot, a canal runs from Littleborough to Todmorden which
passes through Sowerby, Luddenden Foot and Hebden Bridge. This canal was
used to help construct the railway at Hebden Bridge and Todmorden. The
canal had a "basin" at Luddenden Foot where the bargees ("boaties") tied
up.They would stay overnight at one of the three taverns here, The Woodman,
The Weavers Arms and The Anchor and Shuttle.
There was also a corn mill by the canal in the 1800's owned by George
and William Thompson with mills on the hilltop at Midgley which were owned
by Ely Titherington who was a wealthy worsted spinner. Ely and his son
James also owned a house called Old Ridings overlooking the Luddenden Valley.
Luddenden Foot is probably best known for its association with Branwell
Bronte the unfortunate brother and artist of the Bronte sisters of Haworth.
In the 1800's Branwell Bronte who was working as a station master at
Luddenden Foot railway station, frequented the Lord Nelson Inn with
the Luddenden Reading Society. Some of the members were9:
Timothy Wormald, the landlord of the Lord Nelson and clerk
to the church across the way. John Whitworth a mill owner
at Longbottom on the canal, whgo owned a fine residence called Peel House
beyond Luddenden.
John Garnett, a manufacturer of Holm House.
Francis Grundy, a railway engineer (Richard Grundy drove the
first train from Manchester to the Calder Valley.)
William Heaton a handloom weaver of Luddenden.
Francis Leyland a printer.
William Wolven, a ticket collector
G. Thompson, a corn merchant.
John Murgatroyd, a wealthy woollen manufacturer of Oats Royd,
Luddenden. He employed the Liverpool Irish in his mills. Many Irish worked
the mills and canals (Cols, Colls, Killiners and McColls).
George Richardson the wharfinger of Sowerby Bridge (controlled
the warehouses and Wharfs)
Branwell Bronte lodged at Turn Lea cottages ("up t' hill"). His
bedroom window overlooked the Ewood Estates at Midgley, once owned by John
Grimshaw who inherited Ewood when he was twelve from his grandfather. Later
it was inherited by John Crossley of Caitcliffe Hall.
By the end of March 1842 Branwell Bronte had been dismissed from his
post as station master at Luddenden Foot. (The railway had arrived in 1840)
LORD OF THE MANOR OF MIDGLEY20
" THE Lord
of the Manor of Midgley, Thomas Fawcett
Riley
of Ewood Hall, Mytholmroyd, died in
December
[1928], aged 68.
A bachelor,
he was of a quiet, retiring disposition and had never
taken
an active part in public affairs although he contributed
quietly
to various charities. He was also connected with
Mytholmroyd
Church.
In
earlier years, he was a well-known hunter in the East Riding and
was
also fond of shooting, although failing eyesight later forced him
to
give it up.
He
was the owner of Midgley Moor and of the Ewood Hall estate,
which
included adjoining farms, and part owner of Bracewell Hall
estate,
Skipton-in-Craven, where he did most of his entertaining of
friends".
"Ewood Hall had a very long history, but was demolished in the early 1970s.
However there is a photo of the hamlet of Ewood and cottages which stood
close by the hall in a booklet of local walks
In 1881 the Lord of the Manor was one Thomas Riley. He is mentioned
in the booklet as having bought Ewood Hall in 1850. He also built many
of the properties in the vicinity and they still bear his initials on the
walls. Apparently, John and Charles Wesley both preached there in 1752 and
Royalist troops camped at Ewood prior to the Battle of Heptonstall in the
Civil War in 1643"13
Magson House is sited near Luddenden. In 1595 the house was sold to a Richard Midgley but was then sold by his heir Robert in 1715
Mytholmroyd
Lies deep in Calderdale on the river Calder.
O.E. (ge)mythe (dative plural) (ge)mythum+rodu, meaning 'clearing
at the river-mouths'.
Mythomrode in the 1200's2. The name Royd which is found throughout
Yorkhire has its derivation in 'rode'. Terra bovata and Terra rodata (rode)
were two types of land under plough (oxgang land). Rode became Royd (='rid')
meaning to clear or grub. Royd is almost as common as a place-name suffix
as -field ('felled') or close ('enclosure')4.
Sowerby Bridge ( 1086 D.B.-Sorebi)
In the 1400's recorded as Sourebybrigge. This township had an important
role to play as a bridging point across the Calder river.
Warley ( 1086 D.B.-Werla)
Also recorded as Werlei. A town in the Parish of Halifax, Liberty
of Wakefield. About 2.5 miles from Halifax. Also one of the 9 Berewicks
in the Manor of Wakefield. Under the school are the old Midgley/Warley prison
cells which have three exits!
Ovenden
O.E. personal name+denu meaning'valley of a man called Ofa'
In 1219 recorded as Ovenden.
The earliest recorded Midgley here is the marriage of John Midgley to
?Alicia Midgley in 155410.
Thornton by Bradford (1086 D.B.- Torentone)
O.E. thorn+tun meaning 'thorn-tree enclosure or farmstead' Another Midgley manor was
situated here.
Todmorden (1246-Tottemerden)
O.E. Boundary valley of a man called Totta pers. name+maere+ denu
One Todmorden vicar was a Joseph Midgley who succeeded his father, Richard
Midgley (b.1500's).Apparently he had more extreme Puritanical views than
his father.
The Gibbet
In records for the late 1500's it is common to see references
to "heading" in Halifax which refers to persons being beheaded at the "Halifax Gibbet" the
precursor to the French guillotine but long used here to deal with wollen
cloth stealers and "coiners".
Richard Midgley was beheaded at Halifax gibbet 13th April 1624, but
on the side of the law is John de Midgley, Constable of Midgley in
1371 (Wakefield Rolls) and Robert Midgley was a Constable at Northowram
1849-1850.
Sources: 1.Sue Sheridan Walker (ed.), The Court Rolls of the Manor of Wakefield
from October
1331 to September 1333 (1983)
2.Moira Habberjam, Mary O' Regan, Brian Hale (eds.), The Court Rolls
of the Manor of
Wakefield from October 1350 to September 1352
(1987) With Introduction by C M Fraser
3.Ann Weikel (ed.), The Court Rolls of the Manor of Wakefield from October
1537 to
September 1539 (1993)
4.Ann Weikel (ed.), The Court Rolls of the Manor of Wakefield from October
1550 to
September 1552 (1989)
5.Ann Weikel (ed.), The Court Rolls of the Manor of Wakefield from October
1583 to
September 1585 (1984)
6.C M Fraser (ed.), The Court Rolls of the Manor of Wakefield from October
1608 to
September 1609 (1996)
7.Lilian Robinson (ed.), The Court Rolls of the Manor of Wakefield from
October 1651
to September 1652 (1990)
8.Constance M Fraser, Kenneth Emsley (ed.), The Court Rolls of the Manor
of Wakefield
from October 1664 to September 1665 (1986)
9.Andrew Brent, B J Barber (ed.), The Court Rolls of the Manor of Wakefield
from
October 1790 to September 1792 (1994)
forthcoming volumes:
K Troup (ed.), The Court Rolls of the Manor of Wakefield from 1338
to 1340 (1998)
J Addy, A Young (ed.), The Court Rolls of the Manor of Wakefield
from 1378 to 1380
Enquiries should be addressed to:
Hon General Editor
c/o Yorkshire Archaeological Society
Claremont
23 Clarendon Road
Leeds LS2 9NZ
Other useful references if you can get to see them:
*Dom Boc. A Translation of the Record called Domesday as far as it
relates to the County of York. Revd. W.
Bawden,Doncaster,1809.
*Dodsworth Manuscripts, Bodleian Library, Oxford.
*Extract of Dodsworth MSS Yorkshire Archaeological Journal Vol 2 1871-2
*Pedigrees of the County Families of Yorkshire, Vol I West Riding,
Joseph Foster, London 1874
*Leyland's Itinerary 1535-1543 ed. Hearne 1714.
*The Book of Poll-Tax, West Riding, Yorks. Archaeol. Soc. 1882.
*A list of Roman Catholics in the County of York 1604, E. Peacock,
Hotten 1872.
*History of Halifax,.Watson, 1741. Leyland, Halifax Ed.
*Pictures of the Past . F.A. Grundy, Griffith & Farrar 1879
*It Happened Here. Arthur Porritt
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