RECENT EVENTS
24 FEBRUARY 2020. ALAN HOWE AND STEVE WILSON: OSSETT’S GOOD, BAD AND UGLY
Taking a personal selection of Ossett’s people, our speakers justified their choices through the examination of their lives and character. Amongst those categorised as “good” were Eli Townend and Philip Mickman. Townend (1846-1910) overcame early handicaps, including impaired vision, by working hard at whatever jobs he could get. He succeeded in both his working and public lives, becoming a member of Ossett’s Local Board and a West Riding County Councillor, despite never learning to read. A rough diamond, he never forgot his humble beginnings and was a charitable man. Philip Mickman, whose family owned a hosiery firm off Dale Street, achieved sporting greatness when he became the youngest successful Channel swimmer in 1949. Three years later he repeated his efforts by crossing the Channel in the opposite direction, becoming the youngest to swim in both directions. On the other hand, the “bad” of Osssett were represented by James Mark Briggs a drunkard who was imprisoned for assaulting his daughter; by Louie Calvert of Gawthorpe, who was hanged for murdering both her landlady, Lily Waterhouse and John Frobisher for whom she had been a housekeeper; and by Sydney Cecil Beauchamp or Thomas Price (and other aliases) a bigamist, liar, thief and military deserter, who was finally apprehended in Hull in 1915 and served three years at Portland jail, Dorset. The “ugly” was represented not by a person but by Flushdyke, a part of Ossett which is seen as a gateway to the town from the M1. From the 1970s onwards it has been blighted by a mishmash of unsightly industrial units.
27th JANUARY 2020. RUTH NETTLETON: OSSETT’S 1908 GRAND BAZAAR
The large public hall, part of Ossett’s new Town Hall building, was inaugurated by a Grand Bazaar in February 1908. Held over three days, the Bazaar raised over £1800 for the Dewsbury and District Infirmary. Using images from the beautifully designed pages of the Bazaar handbook, Ruth Nettleton highlighted the names of Ossett’s “great and good” who sat on the event’s various steering committees. These involved both men and women in various aspects of the organisation, with committees responsible for Invitations and Donations; The Handbook and Advertising; Decoration and Entertainment. The hall housed a number of stalls with a smoke room and shooting gallery, and a café upstairs offering afternoon teas at 2/6d. Visitors were entertained by a musical programme from J. Wormald’s orchestral band. Descriptions of some of the businesses which advertised in the Handbook were accompanied by fascinating historical photographs of Ossett town centre, showing where they were located.
25 NOVEMBER 2019. LORRAINE SIMPSON: THE FORGOTTEN WOMEN OF WAKEFIELD – THE GISSINGS AND THE STAYNES.
The talk began with an overview of the Forgotten Women of Wakefield project which has the eventual aim of blue plaque parity between men and women in the city. Among the notable women who have already been researched and their plaques unveiled, are Florence Beaumont, the suffragist, Alice Bacon the politician from Normanton, philanthropist Edith Mackie and the artist Louisa Fennell.
Lorraine herself has contributed research on Ellen and Margaret Gissing, the sisters of the Victorian novelist George Gissing. Both were teachers and in 1898 opened a preparatory day school for boys in Wentworth Terrace, later moving to Sandy Walk. Margaret, “Little Gis”, taught the younger pupils, while the more extrovert Ellen or “Big Gis” educated the older ones. Judging by the fond reminiscences of some of the boys, the school was very successful.
Research into the Battle of Quebec Street has highlighted the pivotal role of the extended Staynes family which inhabited several houses in this street just off Westgate. Of the four daughters of Joe and Lily Staynes, Nellie and Emily were particularly prominent in their attempts to protect a group of conscientious objectors from a local mob. Members of a Quaker family, the girls were also suffragettes, and after the First World War, both married conscientious objectors. Nellie and her husband then moved to Leicester, while Emily went first to Birmingham and later emigrated to New Zealand.
More information about the Forgotten Women project can be found at: https://forgottenwomenwake.com
28 OCTOBER 2019. ROD DIMBLEBY: A YORKSHIRE DIALECT TREASURE TROVE – JOHN HARTLEY’S CLOCK ALMANAC
John Hartley (1839-1915), from Halifax, started his working life as a pattern designer in a local textile company. However, he became well-known as the author of Yorkshire dialect poems and stories, which were published in his annual Clock Almanac. Like Charles Dickens, he was a popular performer of his own work, even giving readings in the United States, and was able to command high fees, though at times his family struggled financially. His first published poem was “Bite Bigger” (1865) which was an immense success and sold thousands in penny sheets. Hartley highlighted poverty and social inequality in his work, but he was always able to inject an element of optimism into his stories and poems. He also took note of changes in society poking fun, for example, at the suffragettes. Rod Dimbleby illustrated his fascinating talk by reciting examples of Hartley’s dialect work and with slides of different editions of the Clock almanac
30 SEPTEMBER 2019. BARBARA PHIPPS: CHARLES WATERTON – WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?
In a well-illustrated talk, Barbara gave the audience a fascinating introduction to Charles Waterton’s life and family. The Watertons had lived in the Walton area for many generations, stretching back to the early Middle Ages. The last to hold public office was Sir Thomas, who was High Sheriff of Yorkshire during the reign of Tudor Queen Mary. As the family remained staunchly Catholic, they were later unable to participate in public life and service. Charles himself, one of seven children, attended Stoneyhurst, a Jesuit school in Lancashire. He later went out to Demerara in South America to manage the family’s sugar plantations. As he felt that slavery could not be defended, the administration of the plantations fell to his brothers and cousins after the death of their father. Charles married Anne Edmonstone at the Convent des Anglais in Bruges .Sadly Anne died soon after the birth of their son, Edmund, who was brought up by his aunts. Charles made many changes to the parkland, building a long wall to keep out vermin and poachers. His intention was to establish a nature reserve to protect and attract wildlife. A kind and generous man, he encouraged visitors to the park’s Grotto, particularly local people and inmates of the West Riding Pauper Lunatic Asylum. Charles died in 1865 and is buried in a secluded spot in the woodland. Widely regarded in his own time as eccentric, he was, in fact, a pioneer conservationist.
Taking a personal selection of Ossett’s people, our speakers justified their choices through the examination of their lives and character. Amongst those categorised as “good” were Eli Townend and Philip Mickman. Townend (1846-1910) overcame early handicaps, including impaired vision, by working hard at whatever jobs he could get. He succeeded in both his working and public lives, becoming a member of Ossett’s Local Board and a West Riding County Councillor, despite never learning to read. A rough diamond, he never forgot his humble beginnings and was a charitable man. Philip Mickman, whose family owned a hosiery firm off Dale Street, achieved sporting greatness when he became the youngest successful Channel swimmer in 1949. Three years later he repeated his efforts by crossing the Channel in the opposite direction, becoming the youngest to swim in both directions. On the other hand, the “bad” of Osssett were represented by James Mark Briggs a drunkard who was imprisoned for assaulting his daughter; by Louie Calvert of Gawthorpe, who was hanged for murdering both her landlady, Lily Waterhouse and John Frobisher for whom she had been a housekeeper; and by Sydney Cecil Beauchamp or Thomas Price (and other aliases) a bigamist, liar, thief and military deserter, who was finally apprehended in Hull in 1915 and served three years at Portland jail, Dorset. The “ugly” was represented not by a person but by Flushdyke, a part of Ossett which is seen as a gateway to the town from the M1. From the 1970s onwards it has been blighted by a mishmash of unsightly industrial units.
27th JANUARY 2020. RUTH NETTLETON: OSSETT’S 1908 GRAND BAZAAR
The large public hall, part of Ossett’s new Town Hall building, was inaugurated by a Grand Bazaar in February 1908. Held over three days, the Bazaar raised over £1800 for the Dewsbury and District Infirmary. Using images from the beautifully designed pages of the Bazaar handbook, Ruth Nettleton highlighted the names of Ossett’s “great and good” who sat on the event’s various steering committees. These involved both men and women in various aspects of the organisation, with committees responsible for Invitations and Donations; The Handbook and Advertising; Decoration and Entertainment. The hall housed a number of stalls with a smoke room and shooting gallery, and a café upstairs offering afternoon teas at 2/6d. Visitors were entertained by a musical programme from J. Wormald’s orchestral band. Descriptions of some of the businesses which advertised in the Handbook were accompanied by fascinating historical photographs of Ossett town centre, showing where they were located.
25 NOVEMBER 2019. LORRAINE SIMPSON: THE FORGOTTEN WOMEN OF WAKEFIELD – THE GISSINGS AND THE STAYNES.
The talk began with an overview of the Forgotten Women of Wakefield project which has the eventual aim of blue plaque parity between men and women in the city. Among the notable women who have already been researched and their plaques unveiled, are Florence Beaumont, the suffragist, Alice Bacon the politician from Normanton, philanthropist Edith Mackie and the artist Louisa Fennell.
Lorraine herself has contributed research on Ellen and Margaret Gissing, the sisters of the Victorian novelist George Gissing. Both were teachers and in 1898 opened a preparatory day school for boys in Wentworth Terrace, later moving to Sandy Walk. Margaret, “Little Gis”, taught the younger pupils, while the more extrovert Ellen or “Big Gis” educated the older ones. Judging by the fond reminiscences of some of the boys, the school was very successful.
Research into the Battle of Quebec Street has highlighted the pivotal role of the extended Staynes family which inhabited several houses in this street just off Westgate. Of the four daughters of Joe and Lily Staynes, Nellie and Emily were particularly prominent in their attempts to protect a group of conscientious objectors from a local mob. Members of a Quaker family, the girls were also suffragettes, and after the First World War, both married conscientious objectors. Nellie and her husband then moved to Leicester, while Emily went first to Birmingham and later emigrated to New Zealand.
More information about the Forgotten Women project can be found at: https://forgottenwomenwake.com
28 OCTOBER 2019. ROD DIMBLEBY: A YORKSHIRE DIALECT TREASURE TROVE – JOHN HARTLEY’S CLOCK ALMANAC
John Hartley (1839-1915), from Halifax, started his working life as a pattern designer in a local textile company. However, he became well-known as the author of Yorkshire dialect poems and stories, which were published in his annual Clock Almanac. Like Charles Dickens, he was a popular performer of his own work, even giving readings in the United States, and was able to command high fees, though at times his family struggled financially. His first published poem was “Bite Bigger” (1865) which was an immense success and sold thousands in penny sheets. Hartley highlighted poverty and social inequality in his work, but he was always able to inject an element of optimism into his stories and poems. He also took note of changes in society poking fun, for example, at the suffragettes. Rod Dimbleby illustrated his fascinating talk by reciting examples of Hartley’s dialect work and with slides of different editions of the Clock almanac
30 SEPTEMBER 2019. BARBARA PHIPPS: CHARLES WATERTON – WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?
In a well-illustrated talk, Barbara gave the audience a fascinating introduction to Charles Waterton’s life and family. The Watertons had lived in the Walton area for many generations, stretching back to the early Middle Ages. The last to hold public office was Sir Thomas, who was High Sheriff of Yorkshire during the reign of Tudor Queen Mary. As the family remained staunchly Catholic, they were later unable to participate in public life and service. Charles himself, one of seven children, attended Stoneyhurst, a Jesuit school in Lancashire. He later went out to Demerara in South America to manage the family’s sugar plantations. As he felt that slavery could not be defended, the administration of the plantations fell to his brothers and cousins after the death of their father. Charles married Anne Edmonstone at the Convent des Anglais in Bruges .Sadly Anne died soon after the birth of their son, Edmund, who was brought up by his aunts. Charles made many changes to the parkland, building a long wall to keep out vermin and poachers. His intention was to establish a nature reserve to protect and attract wildlife. A kind and generous man, he encouraged visitors to the park’s Grotto, particularly local people and inmates of the West Riding Pauper Lunatic Asylum. Charles died in 1865 and is buried in a secluded spot in the woodland. Widely regarded in his own time as eccentric, he was, in fact, a pioneer conservationist.
