Silvia Glomski’s father, Hermann Seinsch, pictured above, was a prisoner of war at Cliffe Hill from 1945 to 1947. She contacted our history society to see what we knew about the camp and to arrange a visit. This article links his story with some information about the camp and the conditions that they faced. There…
Johnston Jonas Foster (of the Black Dyke company) lived with his family in Cliffe Hill. He offered to build a new church in Lightclffe which is St Matthew’s on Wakefield Road. When he moved to near Ludlow in Shropshire, the family built another church replacing an older one. Further research showed that the Foster family…
The mansion viewed from the north. The Crow Nest Mansion was by far the largest and most impressive house in our area. Sir Titus Salt It was built for the Walker family around 1775 and was their home until 1867. It was then bought by Titus Salt who lived in it and entertained a couple…
Sir William Aykroyd was the first baronet Aykroyd of Lightcliffe. After moving to Cliffe Hill in 1899, he bought into T F Firths and became the owner of the company in succession to Sir Algernon Firth. He was a great benefactor to the community giving generously to the local church, the cricket club and in…
Cliffe Hill has been the home to some well known textile magnates. It was built for the Walker family of neighbouring Crow Nest mansion who had made their fortune in woolen mills. They were followed in 1867 by Johnston Jonas Foster (part of the Fosters of Black Dyke Mills, Queensbury). He funded the building of…
Lightcliffe House was adjacent to Smith House until it was demolished following a fire. The houses on Windsor Walk now stand where it once was. It may have dated back to before 1741 and had a brief connection to the Moravians when they first came to our area. Certainly it was part of the Walkers…
Langley House stood in a very prominent position on Towngate facing down Kirk Lane. It dated back to 1600 and probably earlier. It belonged to several well known families including the Walkers of Crow Nest and the Fletchers. For many years it acted as a farmhouse but from the early 1900s, reverted to being a…
T F Firth’s of Bailiff Bridge was a hugely successful local company making carpets. It expanded in the late 1800s establishing two factories in New York State. Please click on the Download and you should get the article in a readable (pdf) format. Download 20USA
The sale of some land in Hove Edge and Hipperholme belonging to the Sunderlands (of Coley) in 1875 This article looks at the sale of land in Hove Edge and Hipperholme in 1875. It includes Giles House, Lower Green Farm and the Dusty Miller. Part of the area was known as Fold End, being the…
The Walker estate had been built up over a period of over a hundred years. The expectation of landowners was to increase the estate as suitable land became available and write wills in such a way that these estates were preserved and not split. When Elizabeth and Ann inherited, the estate was very large including…