WEST YORKSHIRE ARCHIVE SERVICE

KIRKLEES

These comprise records from Kirklees Metropolitan Council and its eleven predecessor authorities - the County Boroughs of Dewsbury and Huddersfield, the Boroughs of Batley and Spenborough, and the Urban Districts of Colne Valley, Denby Dale, Heckmondwike, Holmfirth, Kirkburton, Meltham and Mirfield. Records are also held of still earlier authorities such as Huddersfield Lighting and Watching Commissioners, Huddersfield and Dewsbury Boards of Guardians and the townships of Batley, Denby, Dewsbury, Honley, Mirfield, South Crosland and Thurstonland and Upperthong.

Among the deposits of family and estate papers the most notable are those of the Ramsdens of Byram and Longley, Beaumonts of Whitley and Thornhills of Fixby. The Ramsden papers include deeds, rentals, surveys and valuations for Huddersfield and Almondbury 1200-1921 and the Almondbury court rolls from 1627. The papers of the Beaumont family cover the twelfth to the twentieth centuries and mainly relate to Kirkheaton, Lepton, South Crosland, Mirfield and Whitley. The papers of the Clarke-Thornhill family of Fixby supplement those held by the Yorkshire Archaeological Society. The collection includes accounts, deeds and leases mostly for the Calverley, Fixby, Lindley, Longwood and Rastrick areas.

The records in this class depict the wide range of business activity in the Kirklees area. The textile industry is represented by woollen, worsted and fancy cloth manufacturers in the Huddersfield area and shoddy, mungo and rag merchants in the Dewsbury and Batley area. Other records of firms include accountants, shovel makers, valvemakers, shoemakers, land surveyors, auctioneers, maltsters, iron and lead works, wire rope manufacturers, theatres, tanners, the Huddersfield Canal Company and a number of solicitors. A large collection of records of co-operative societies is held, including minutes of more than thirty local branches.

The parish registers for most of the churches within Kirklees and for other parishes in West yorkshire are available on microfiche (or microfilm) but it is advisable to confirm holdings before a visit. Records are held of over 130 Nonconformist churches including Baptists, Christian Brethren, Congregationalists, Independents, Methodists and Unitarians, with registers and Sunday school records. The records of Highfield Independent Chapel contain papers relating to Highfield Schools and to the Huddersfield Girls' College Company.

A wide range of records relating to local societies, trade unions and bodies established for special purposes are held. These include minutes of Holmfirth flood relief fund 1852 and records of the National Union of Dyers, Bleachers and Textile Workers. There are also records of a number of Friendly Societies, Trades Councils and Chambers of Commerce. The musical heritage of the area is well represented and records include Huddersfield Choral Society, the Glee and Madrigal Society and a number of Feast Sings. The records of G W Tomlinson reflect the interests of a middle class Victorian gentleman, being extremely diverse and including political posters, transcripts of medieval deeds, pamphlets and genealogical and heraldic notebooks.