Communications

Highways of Elland

During its early history the township of Elland was more important than its now much larger neighbour Halifax. It was .the only crossing point over the Calder for many miles. Where the town now stands is a layer of coal measure escarpment, Here the river cuts a narrow channel the perfect place for a bridging point. Below this point the river is much wider and bounded on both sides by heavily wooded hillsides. Above the town the river is also wider but this time runs through marshy land. The date of the first bridge is not known but would have probably been of wooden construction. All other major bridging points of the Calder were bridged by 1350. The town during this period was very important as it was the last Market town before Blackstone Edge and the route to Manchester.

For a number of centuries the town prospered from the wealth it obtained from being a staging post for travellers during their long journey. The wealth was soon to disappear with the opening of new routes which by-passed the town. Very little road building was done for centuries, the town keeping to its feudal system until the Enclosure Act of 1808. Soon all traffic for Manchester and the west was by-passing Elland and going via Halifax on easier routes. The roads of Upper and Lower Edge were too steep for wheeled transport and when a new road was built running parallel with the river bank they became deserted.

The town of Elland itself was built to the Mediaeval Plan with its four roads meeting at the cross, with the church at one of the corners and the inns near to on the others. Watergate, or Northgate as it is now known ran from the cross down to the bridge. Westgate which runs from the church towards the old manor, now the Fleece Inn, then turned towards Long Wall, Here it met Gog Hill which climbed steeply from the river bank. Southgate the last of the original roads led towards South Lane and then Upper Edge. When the present Huddersfield Road was built (Briggate and Castlegate) the old town centre was by-passed.

The town did not change from this basic plan until the end of the eighteenth century when New Street was built on what had been common land. Victoria Road is based on an old public right of way which ran from Hullenedge to the centre of Elland. During the last century there have been many changes to the structure of the towns roads which gives us the street plan of the town as it is today,

But even today the town is an obstacle to be negotiated by traffic on the busy routes between Huddersfield and Halifax. Plans have been proposed to build a by-pass to take the heavy traffic off the streets of the town but this is only in the future. During the last year this has been increased by the opening of the M62 between Manchester and Leeds. All motorway traffic from the local area must find its way through the narrow streets before they can reach the motorway interchange at the top of the Ainleys.

During its history the town has had its problems of trying to get traffic to use the town, but now with todays fast transport system and large heavy loads the opposite seems to be the case.

Elland Bridge

The earliest record of a bridge at Elland is in a deed of an account of Clay House in 1316. A man known as William de Ponte (of the Bridge) was mentioned in several earlier deeds but in this particular deed is more fully named as William at the Bridge of Elland. This is the only written proof of a bridge at Elland in those early days, but as the Elands lived on the far side of the river one would assume that there was some sort of wooden bridge. Against this it is stated in the ballad of 'Elland Feud' that Sir John Eland was slain as he crossed by the dam. It is also stated in the same verse that the river was very low because of drought and possibly Sir John Eland was taking a short-cut across the dam instead of the bridge.

After 1316 the bridge at Elland is mentioned several times in the wills of the local gentry. The first known bequest was made in 1483 by Henry Sayvell (Savile) son of Thomas Sayvell of Hullen Edge. In this will he left 6s 6d to the reporcan (repair) of Elland Bridge.

In 1540 another Savile, Sir John Sayvell of New Hall, Elland bequeathed 10s 'to the making of the bridge at Elland'. This suggests that the bridge was being rebuilt at the time.

In 1573 a Thomas Wodhead of Barkisland left 6s 8d to the repairing of 'Elland Bridge'. This is known to be specifically for the building of the first stone bridge at Elland.

In June 1579 a contract for the erection of a stone bridge at Elland was let to three masons by a towns committee composed of 8 substantial 'yeomens'. This contract is, I believe, still in existence and in 1935 was housed at Cannon Hall near Barnsley. The amount to be paid to the three masons was 65 pounds. This may not sound a great deal even for those days but the town undertook to provide all the materials and some of the labour. it should also be pointed out that the money for this and previous bridges was raised by, as previously mentioned, by bequests and begging subscriptions. It was not until sometime later that the 'county' took over the cost of repairs to the bridge.

The bridge built in 1579 by the above three masons appears to have stood for only a very short lenght of time before the foundations gave way.

The second stone bridge built in 1584 stood for 30 years before being destroyed in the great flood of 1615.

The new bridge was finished sometime in 1618, as records state that at Christmas 1617 £424 15s 4d had been spent on the bridge at Elland and a further £60 was required to complete the work.

It is quite possible that part of this bridge still stands today although extensive repairs and alterations have taken place. It should be pointed out that this is the bridge over the River Calder only and does not include the bridge over the canal which was added at a later date. The original road to Halifax was through Exley. This is why the original bridge was deflected by some 30o to the eastward leading directly to Exley Lane. This part of the bridge is probably very near original.

Bridge widening began in 1797 in the reign of George III. Since then it has been widened and strengthened many times. The canal bridge was added around 1757, but this is dealt with in a later chapter.

Canal

The Canal at Elland is part of the Calder & Hobble Navigation. The first bill was raised in Parliament in 1740 for the forming of a company to undertake this project. The bill was however defeated as were subsequent bills of 1744 and 1751.

Halifax, and indeed Elland, were at this time beginning to expand industrially. The trouble was that the only method of transporting goods between Halifax and Elland and the large centres of Leeds and Wakefield was by road. The road transport at this time being rather costly. .

Naturally the people concerned with road transport opposed the Navigation Bill as also did the local landowners and millowners v/ho were afraid of flooding causing damage to their property and mills.

In 1757 a committee appointed John Smearton, who was at that time engaged upon building the Eddison Lighthouse, to undertake a survey of the navigation. This he did in October and November of that year estimating the cost at £30 000 and taking approximately seven years. Smearton also satisfied the landowners and mill owners that there would be very little damage due to flooding and that any damage that might be caused would be greatly compensated for by the use of the navigation.

In 1758 a bill was passed in Parliament for the undertaking of making the Calder and Hebble navigable between Wakefield and Sowerby Bridge. The navigation was completed in 1767 as far as Salterhebble at a cost of £64 000. The work having being stopped twice to raise more funds.

Unfortunately due to extensive flooding in 1767/68 the Navigation was so severely damaged that it had to be closed.

Repair work was started in 1769 and the Navigation finally opened in 1770 between Wakefield and Sowerby Bridge at an approximate cost of £75 000.

The subsequent trade however was such that the venture proved very profitable not only to the investors but also to the communities of Halifax, Elland and Sowerby Bridge.

Unfortunately the exact dates of the construction of the canal and canal bridge at Elland could not be found but it is thought that the original navigation used the Calder at Elland until some later date.

Railway

The railway line passing through Elland was built by the Manchester and Leeds Railway Company. This Company was formed in 1825 and a committee elected, but because trade was suffering a depression at this time it was decided to wait for a while.

Having seen the success of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway the committee met again on the 11th September 1830 and decided to hold a meeting of respectable people in Manchester on the 18th October of the same year. Having decided to build a track from Manchester to a. temporary terminus at Brighouse, George Stevenson Esq., and James Walker Esq., were engaged to survey the country on the best possible route. At a later date it was decided to build the temporary terminus at Sowerby Bridge instead of Brighouse as originally planned, thus the track would not roach Elland.

On the 10th March 1831, a bill was introduced in the House of Commons, but due to fierce opposition from several companies, especially the proprietors of the Rochdale Canal and also the dissolution of Parliament on the 23rd April, the Bill failed. The Bill was brought before the House of Commons again later that same year, but failed again.

A father bill was brought before Parliament in February 1836 to build a line over the full distance between Manchester and Normanton. The journey between Normanton and Leeds to be covered on track laid by another railway company. This bill received the Royal Consent on the 4th July 1836.

Construction of the railway was begun on l8th August 1837 and opened in sections over the next four years. The line between Hebden Bridge and Normanton was opened on the 5th October 1840. By early 1841, when the whole of the line was completed, it was possible for the people of Elland to travel by rail to both Manchester and Leeds.

The first station at Elland was constructed of timber and built close to the east face of the tunnel. This station also served the town of Halifax until 1st July 1844 when a single branch line was constructed from the main line at Greetland to Shaw Syke, Halifax. The next station at Elland was opened on 1st August 1865. The third and final station was opened on 18th February 1894 at a cost of over £11 000.

Because of the amalgamation of several railway companies, the parent company being the Manchester and Leeds Railway Company, it was decided to change the name to the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway. This change of name took place on the 9th July 1847 and was retained until 1922 when the company became part of the L.N.W.R, and later the L.M.S.

In 1839 it was proposed that a railway line be built between Halifax and Huddersfield via Elland. The proposed route would cut between Elland and Greetland at North Dean, up a gradient to the Ainleys and then on to Fixby. This line would have reduced the travelling distance by about five rniles, but consent was not received to build it. Further attempts were made by different railway companies to build a similar line over the years, but none of them materialised. If the line had ever been built a new station was to have been constructed at Elland.

With an integrated motorway system being developed throughout the country, and road transport improved generally, the railways suffered a decline. A consequence of this was the closure of Elland Station on 10th September, 1962.

Trams

Tramways were first considered by Huddersfield in 1877, but the Corporation later withdrew their consent to the company concerned. In 1879 the Corporation promoted its own bill to operate trams. The Corporation were given the go-ahead in 1880, the first municipality in the country to operate its own trams.

Tramway No.7 was the line which was to involve Elland at a later date.

Tramway No.7 was as follows:

Single line'

Commencing in Lidget Street about 27 yards northward of the north west corner of Holly Bank Road, passing along Lidget Street, Acre Street, New Hey Road, Trinity Street, West Parade, Westgate, Railway Street, St. George's Square and John William Street and terminating with Tramway No.1 in John William Street, 16 yards south west of the north west corner of the Lion Arcade.

This route was completed in 1884 and trams were used. On the 25th of February 1899 it was decided by the Tramways Committee to electrify the system and build a power station. The power station was completed by Christmas 1900 and opened on the 7th February 1901.

On the 21st August 1911, the line up Holly Bank Road was disconnected and the new extension to Birchencliffe connected up.

On the 8th July 1912 the Corporation applied for permission to extend the line to Elland, together with several other outlying districts.

Work was started on the extension to Elland and West Vale in September 1913, the line between Birchencliffe and Ainley Top being single track, double track down the Ainleys to Thomas Street and single track to Elland Town Hall. Loops were incorporated at Elland Town Hall and Branch Road, Ainley Top. This first part of the extension was opened on 14th January 1914 by Tramcar No.46, suitably decorated for the occasion.

Work was begun on the final extension to West Vale. This line followed the route along Southgate, Victoria Road, Jepson Lane and Long Wall, and was single track with loops at several points along its length. This route was opened by the same tramcar as before, again suitably decorated.

Trams on this route ran from West Vale to Almondbury until 1935 when the Huddersfield to Almondbury section was converted to trolley bus operation.

In 1925 Tramcar No.46 was scrapped, but the roof being in good condition was fitted on car No.30.

On the 27th May 1939 the last tram (No.112) ran from Huddersfield to West Vale. The trolley bus service started the next day.

Trolley Buses

With the conversion of the Huddersfield to West Vale route to trolley bus operation it was possible to reinstate the route from West Vale to Almondbury via Elland and Huddersfield. The route numbers were Almondbury to West Vale (30), Almondbury to Elland (31).

During preparation for the trolley bus the Thomas Street to West Vale section, which had previously been single track for the trams, was made a double track.

Because of long, steep gradients in the area coasting brakes were fitted in case of a de-wirement or power failure. These brakes were compulsory on the section down the Ainleys. The brakes were rheostatic and were engaged at the top of the Ainleys when the bus was staionary. The limiting speed down the Ainleys due to these brakes was 8 mph.

When the general manager, Mr. Harold Muscroft, retired in 1958 it was virtually the end of the trolley bus era. His successor was not as enthusiastic toward this form of transport, mainly because of the cost of power, now supplied by the Yorkshire Electricity Board, and because of rates paid to the county council for overhead lines outside the Huddersfield boundary, this included places like Elland.

The abandonment of trolley bus routes began with the closing down of the West Vale run on the 8th November 1961. Previous to this a dual was seen when a trolley bus accelerated past a new motor bus travelling up the Ainleys.

The route between West Vale and Almondbury was discontinued but a new fleet of motor buses was placed on the route between Huddersfield and West Vale.