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Fishers of Briestfield – Coal Miners
In the 1870-72 Gazetteer of England, Briestfield was described as a hamlet in Lower Whitley, situated on the edge of Thornhill parish in West Yorkshire. Also known at various times as Briestwell and Briestwistle, records show that in 1150 it was known as Brerethuisel, meaning “common or waste overgrown with briars in the confluence of two rivers”. Flint stones found nearby hark back to a much earlier occupancy and cannon balls found in the vicinity were a legacy of the Civil War bombardment of nearby Thornhill Hall. The villagers were won over to Wesleyan Methodism and a chapel was built in 1875. It is a place with which I had…
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Earlsheaton History and Family Connections
A potted history of the village of Earlsheaton, my Hemingway ancestors' involvement in woollen blanket manufacture there and my own memories of growing up in the village in the mid-20th Century.
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Weighing the World – John Michell 1724-1793
The story of John Michell, Rector of Thornhill Parish Church near Dewsbury, who was a member of the Royal Society, and who entertained some of the world's most eminent scientists of the18th century at his Rectory. He published ideas in astronomy that were 200 years before his their time and is one of the greatest unsung scientists of his age.
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The Combs Colliery Disaster 4th July 1893
The historic village of Thornhill, near Dewsbury, is situated on a hill on the south side of the River Calder. It’s an important historic site and an area called “The Combs” was named by the ancient Celts, who inhabited the region. Thornhill was mentioned in the Domesday Book and, in the 19th century, it was where many of the author’s ancestors still lived and worked, as miners and quarrymen. Combs Colliery was one of several pits in the area owned by Edward Theodore Ingham, a member of the local gentry who lived at Blake Hall, Mirfield. Of his other pits, Hostingley had closed in 1880 and Ings, situated on adjacent…
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Professor Tom Kilburn CBE FRS – a Personal View of a Remarkable Man
A Dewsbury born mathematician and computer scientist, who was involved in the development of five computers of great historical significance, including the first stored-memory computer, the “Baby”, over the course of a 30-year career. Includes interviews with his pre-war friend and fellow footballer, who happened to be the author’s father. Early years I grew up knowing about Tom Kilburn. He was born at 111 Town Street, Earlsheaton, Dewsbury, on 11th August 1921, just round the corner from where I was brought up. Tom’s father was a clerk at Mark Oldroyd’s woollen mill and later became Company Secretary. An intelligent boy, Tom was educated at the Wheelwright Boys Grammar School (WBGS),…
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The Bradford Arsenic Poisonings
Death from poisoning was not uncommon in the days before the regulation of poisons. Arsenic trioxide (usually referred to as simply "arsenic") was a common feature of everyday life in Victorian Britain.
