Voting closed at 5pm on Friday 17th February, the votes have been counted and verified, and we can reveal the winner from the Wakefield district office is the Winn Family of Nostell Priory.

The voting results were as follows:

Nostell Priory, Winn Family Archive – 40.73%
HM Prison Wakefield, Convict Reception Register – 24.5%
Borough of Pontefract Records – 19.87%
Watson Architects – 7.62%
Diary and Terrier Book of Brotherton Parish – 7.28%


Winn Family of Nostell Priory (WYL1352)

The voting was very close for the majority of the time, but the Nostell Priory, Winn Family Archive raced to victory during these final weeks. The collection we hold ranges from the family papers to the estate records, and one of our highlights is an unassuming recipe book that contains numerous recipes for all manner of things, ranging from the edible to the remedial, and provides cures for both humans and animals.

The collection covers the management of the estate and details the running of Nostell Priory, including inventories and household accounts, whilst the personal papers of the family members give us an insight into who they were and how they lived. Call the Wakefield Office on 01924 305980 to step back in time and learn about the history surrounding this beautiful property.

Do you think the best Treasure won? Leave us your thoughts on the results.

Voting closed at 5pm on Friday 17th February, the votes have been counted and verified, and we can reveal the winner from the Leeds district office is the Tetley’s Brewery.

The voting results were as follows:

Tetley’s Brewery – 33.5%
A W Hainsworth and Sons Ltd – 32.23%
Burton Group Ltd – 19.69%
Yorkshire County Cricket Club – 7.42%
Leeds Pious Uses Committee– 7.16%


Tetley’s Brewery (WYL756)

Winning by just a few votes, the Tetley’s Brewery collection is the perfect way to preserve it’s memory for future generations. It all started in 1822 when Joshua Tetley took over William Sykes’ brewery in Salem Place with the idea to brew his own beer as well as selling malt. Ahead of his time he was met with resistance trying to change tradition, but he soon established the brewery, after WW1 bottled beer was also sold in great quantities, and by 1950 Tetley’s owned more than 400 licensed houses.

The full Tetley’s collection has the vast business records of the brewery, including mechanics’ notebooks relating to the brewing process, day books, experiment books, ‘Brewed and to Brew’ books, as well as staff records. Call the Leeds Office on 0113 214 5814 to find out all about the brewery that was the pride of Yorkshire.

Do you think the best Treasure won? Leave us your thoughts on the results.

Voting closed at 5pm on Friday 17th February, the votes have been counted and verified, and we can reveal the winner from the Kirklees district office is The Fisher Family of Almondbury Letters.

The voting results were as follows:

The Fisher Family Letters – 52.78%
George Cowley Papers – 17.5%
Women’s Social and Political Union, Huddersfield, Minutes – 11.94%
Florence Lockwood Diaries – 10%
Beaumont of Whitley: Family and Estate Records – 7.78%


The Fisher Family of Almondbury Letters (WYK1263)

A runaway winner since early on in the voting period, the Fisher Family Letters are a set of 28 letters from 1805-1818, and let us hear the voices of the Fisher family from 200 years ago.  These personal letters highlight the social problems and solutions of the time used to stop young men falling into bad company. However, forcing them to stay in the army for over 13 years seems a bit ruthless by today’s standards!

The majority of letters are from their eldest son, Thomas Fisher, whilst in the army, but he is not the only child in trouble, as we can see from letters by his younger brother William who has also been sent away to work as a planter’s clerk in Jamaica. They describe in detail their thoughts and feelings about what they have done, their situation and what they see during this time, including William’s moving account of the enslaved workers. Call the Kirklees Office on 01484 221966 to read these absorbing letters.

Do you think the best Treasure won? Leave us your thoughts on the results.

Voting closed at 5pm on Friday 17th February, the votes have been counted and verified, and we can reveal the winner from the Calderdale district office is John Crossley and Sons, the carpet manufacturers of Halifax.

The voting results were as follows:

John Crossley and Sons – 34.98%
The Diaries of Anne Lister – 30.03%
The Fielden Brothers – 20.79%
Waterhouse Charities – 7.92%
Halifax Choral Society – 6.27%


John Crossley and Sons (DC, CRO)

Throughout the voting period John Crossley and Sons competed closely with the Diaries of Anne Lister, but took the lead in the final week and made it to the end! By 1879 John Crossley and Sons was the largest carpet manufacturing firm in the world, thanks mainly to their pioneering use and development of steam-powered looms, and their carpets were world famous, gracing the floors of places such as the Royal Opera House, Christiansborg Castle, Denmark and the Empress of India steamship!   

The firm and the family were also pivotal in the development of Halifax and the locality, due to their philanthropic generosity. The Crossley collection held comprises some 920 boxes of staff and production records, deeds, maps, correspondence, accounts and other records which were saved from Dean Clough Mills in 1988 following the closure of the firm. Call the Calderdale Office on 01422 392636 to view this fascinating collection.

Do you think the best Treasure won? Leave us your thoughts on the results.

Voting closed at 5pm on Friday 17th February, the votes have been counted and verified, and we can reveal the winner from the Bradford district office is The Alhambra Theatre.

The voting results were as follows:

The Alhambra Theatre – 35.78%

Brown, Muff and Co. Ltd – 22.94%

Jowett Car Club – 20.18%

William Scruton Scrapbooks – 13.3%

Oriental Arts – 7.8%

The Alhambra Theatre (11D82)

A clear favourite from the start The Alhambra Theatre is well known and loved in Bradford and across West Yorkshire. Built in 1912 by Francis Laidler the stage has been host to many famous faces over the years, from Laurel and Hardy to Tommy Cooper, Joanna Lumley and Colin Firth!

The Alhambra Theatre collection has a vast amount of records including posters, scripts and programmes for a number of performances over the years, many of which were written by the proprietor Francis Laidler until his death in 1955. Call the Bradford Office on 01274 435099 to view the collection and take a trip down memory lane.

Do you think the best Treasure won? Leave us your thoughts on the results.

West Yorkshire Archive Service are holding a Treasures of the Archives voting day in your district! 

From the five treasures chosen relating to your district, we now need to find the biggest treasure of all!

We are holding a voting day in each of the five districts.  Staff will be on hand to show surrogate examples of items from the nominated collections and tell you a little bit more about why these incredible collections are indeed our treasures.

Monday 23rd January  ground floor of Halifax Central Library, 9.30 – 3.00pm

Tuesday 24th January ground floor Bradford Central Library, 9.30 – 3.00pm

Wednesday 25th Janury Lending Library Huddersfield Central Library, 9.30 – 3.00pm

Thursday 26th January ground floor Leeds Central Library, 9.00 – 3.00pm

Friday 27th Janury Upper Mall, the Riding Shopping Centre, Wakefield 8.30 – 5.30pm

Come along and vote for your favourite and discover some of the treasures of the Archives!

‘The ‘Treasures of the Archives’ campaign is an exciting new way of highlighting some of the diverse and rich collections held by West Yorkshire Archive Service.’

Alternatively you can vote online as many times as you like at      http://wyorksarchivestreasures.weebly.com/

 Voting for phase 1 of Treasures of the Archives will close at 5pm on Friday 17thFebruary 2012. Winners will be announced on Monday 20th February.

The collection voted as the ‘Treasure’ of each district will be showcased in your district office. For further details please contact the Collections Team on 0113 3939767or email [email protected]

Watsons Architects includes the work of three generations of the same family and as a result of this there are a vast amount of plans retained in this collection.

Started by William Watson, his son William Harold Watson then joined the firm located at Barstow Square, Wakefield also along with another partner F B Ellison. After his fathers death in 1901 and Ellison leaving the firm he was sole partner until his son William Eustace Watson joined the firm around the early 1940s.William E Watson then continued the firm after his fathers death in 1946.

The Watson family contributed to the changing face of Wakefield over the last two centuries as they designed a number buildings and also made alterations to significant buildings including hospitals, schools, war memorials, churches and local businesses.

This collection is full of detailed plans of projects the family were involved in. The plans not only cover the Wakefield area, but also areas all over West Yorkshire.

Some of the building they are linked to include: The White Rose Hospital, War Memorials at Wakefield Grammar School, Sandal and Newmillerdam, Wakefield Technical College and parts of Clayton Hospital.

Vote for Watson Architects today!

 

Have you seen buildings come and go in Wakefield and the surrounding area? Perhaps you had a favourite building that is long gone and who knows, perhaps it was designed by the Watson Family! Leave us your memories here.

 It all started in 1822 when Joshua Tetley took over William Sykes’ brewery in Salem Place with the idea to brew his own beer as well as selling malt. Ahead of his time he was met with resistance trying to change tradition, but he soon established the brewery, after WW1 bottled beer was also sold in great quantities, and by 1950 Tetley’s owned more than 400 licensed houses.

The Shire Horses were the pride of Tetley’s, and are well deserving of a special mention here. Loved by everyone, they were a symbol of the brewery and played an integral part in the daily running of the company. Deliveries were not their only job, they were also used in adverts and promotional material, and regularly visited horse shows, winning many trophies over the years.

The drays were used to deliver the barrels to breweries all around Leeds, and were only retired in 2006, to the dismay of everyone. It was a sight to see them making their deliveries, and a sight that everyone loved – when suggested in the 1970s that they should be banned from the roads for causing traffic problems the papers were flooded with letters in favour of the horses, many suggesting the cars should go instead!

Within this incredible collection is a box full of photos you could spend all day going through, in every one they look their best, and this shows how they were looked after to the highest standard. It wasn’t just the horses, but also their harnesses and the carts that were kept shiny and clean at all times!

The Tetley brewery also played an important role for the 7th Yorkshire, West Riding, (Leeds) Rifle Volunteer Corps as they provided many men, as well as commanding officers and honorary colonels.

Vote for the Tetley’s Collection today!

Did you or a relative work for Tetley’s? Have you got memories of seeing the drays out and about delivering? Tell us here

 The Huddersfield branch of the Women’s Social and Political Union was established in 1907, with the Honorary Secretary Edith Key. The women would regularly meet, either in homes or by renting a room at various places such as the Clarion Club or St Marks School.

Each entry records the date and place of the meeting, as well as the chair presiding, which often rotated and on occasion was filled by Adela Pankhurst herself.

The minute book of the Huddersfield branch of the Women’s Social and Political Union allows us an insight into the issues at the heart of the suffrage movement and the actions taken in pursuance of the right to vote for women, not only on a regional but also national level.

Edith Key, who’s personal papers the book was kept in, was the secretary for the branch and the entries show the determination of the women to make a change, raising funds and travelling the country to organised demonstrations to support the cause.

Of real interest is the copy of the letter sent to women arrested and put in Holloway Jail, which shows the camaraderie and determination these women had for the cause, as well as the report on the years progress.

The suffragist movement had been growing since 1872, with the existence of the National Society for Women’s Suffrage (NSWS) and later in 1897 the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies (NUWSS). The latter group, lead by Millicent Fawcett, was focused on a peaceful approach to gaining support for the cause and believed in democracy as the means to providing votes for women.

Due to the lack of success in its early years, the party divided and the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU) was founded in 1903 by Emmeline Pankhurst and her daughter Christabel. Their slogan ‘Deeds, Not Words’ reflected their more militant action in the campaign for votes, but although publicising the issue, many people were unsympathetic due to their increasingly aggressive tactics.

The WSPU stopped their activities in the face of World War One to take a unified national stance behind Britain, and was dissolved in 1917. Women were given a qualified right to vote in 1918, but it was not until 1928 that this privilege was given universal application.

Vote for Women's Social and Political Union, Huddersfield Branch, Minutes today!

Was your mother or grandmother a member of the movement? Does the women’s movement interest you? Leave us your thoughts today

 
“John Crossley came from Luddenden
One hundred years ago;
But little dreamt John Crossley then
Of the sight that now you show;
For Dean Clough Mills, which now employ
Four thousand willing hands,
Are known the wide world over
To the people of all lands”

By 1879 John Crossley and Sons was the largest carpet manufacturing firm in the world, thanks mainly to their pioneering use and development of steam-powered looms and the fact that all processes from raw materials to finished carpets were carried out on the one site at Dean Clough, Halifax.

The records in the Crossley collection cover every aspect of the manufacture of Crossley carpets which were sold all around the world, including China and Japan, South America, Egypt and the West Indies, renowned for their quality and craftsmanship.

The collection also illustrates the workforce at work and play with annual outings, the Crossley’s Carpets Works Band and the Dean Clough Library and Institute as well as the firm’s diverse other interests, including plantations in Louisiana, and coal mines, in the townships of Sharlston, Wragby, and Snydale.

The philanthropic generosity of the Crossley family to the people of Halifax and further afield is also documented, inspired by a belief that blessings received in life should be  shared..

In the words of Martha Crossley, wife of the founder, “If the Lord does bless us at this place, the poor shall taste of it”.

Vote for John Crossley and Sons today! 

Did your ancestors work at Dean Clough? Do you know about the history of Crossley’s? Leave us your thoughts here!