From the Newspapers

Yesterday afternoon an inquest was held at the Beaumont Arms, Kirkheaton, before J.R. Ingham, Esq. Deputy coroner touching the death of Albert Rhodes, a boy ten and half years old, son of the late John Rhodes of Lepton. The deceased met with his death in the belfry of Kirkheaton Church. Joe Brook, the first witness said: I am a Scholar at the same school as the deceased attended. On Wednesday last, at about one o’clock, the deceased, I and three other boys, went up into the ringers’ room at Kirkheaton Church.
The ringers were not ringing, in about ten minutes we all came down again with exception of the deceased. As I was coming down I shouted out “Albert, come on,” but I received no answer. I never saw him alive again. James Broadbent, weaver, of Kirkheaton, said: On Wednesday I was ringing at Kirkheaton Church, on the occasion of a marriage. I remember several boys coming up into the ringing room about one o’clock. I did not notice the deceased.
They soon afterwards left and shut the door; there are steps just outside the ringers’ room, leading up into the belfry. We had left the bells with the mouths up or set. I had just seized hold of my rope to commence ringing when if suddenly came down upon my head, I said there is something wrong.
Rufus Green, another ringer then went up to the top of the ladder leading to the belfry, but came quickly down again and said I’ll not go up yonder by myself, there’s blood running down the wall. Joseph Jenkinson ringer then went up with him. I saw no more.
There is a ladder leading into the belfry, and there is also a trap door, which I do not think the deceased could lift, I do not know any others.
P.C 139 said there was a hole at the top of the ladder leading under the bells, through which a man might get if the bells were set.
Joseph Jenkinson was next could: He corroborated the previous witness’s statement, and added that he found the deceased under the bells, with a frightful cut on the head. He thought the deceased must have had hold of the “stay” (a piece of wood against which the bell rests), and at the moment the last witness seized the rope the bell most have overbalanced, and hitting his head knocked him against the wall.
He said the back of the door leading to the belfry wanted repairing in consequence of that the deceased might have got through.
After hearing these statements, the jury returned a verdict that “ deceased died from injuries caused by being accidentally struck by a bell in Kirkheaton Church.”
It appears that the family to which the deceased belonged has been very unfortunate having four of its members killed within the last twenty years. The father was killed three year ago by an explosion of firedamp, in a pit, he was a steward, and his Grandfather was run over by a cart.

Colne Bridge Cotton Mill Fire

Thomas Atkinson the third son of Joseph Atkinson was the proprietor of an extensive Woollen manufacturing concern at Bradley Mills. He also owned a cotton mill at Colne Bridge. Eighty persons employed at the mill, and it was the practise to work machinery in the night and during the day.
On the night of Friday, February 14th 1818, a most destructive fire broke out in the cotton factory of Mr Atkinson situated at Colne Bridge, about three miles from Huddersfield. It appears that the machinery in part of the building in part of the building worked by Day and Night.
At 5am, a boy of the name of James Thornton had been sent down for Rovings from the card room with a naked candle, instead of the glass lamp provided expressly for the purpose. One of the overlookers after he was gone, felling sense danger of such an act of imprudence hastened after the lad, but in vain, for just as he was entering the lower room, he saw the flames rising from a quantity of cotton and carded laps, several skips of which were standing under the stairs instantly in a blaze.
Thornton distressed at the sight of the mischief about which he had inadvertently committed, ran upstairs to communicate the appalling tidings that the factory was on fire.
He then hastened back to the top of the stairs and escaped out of the building, but so rapid was the progress of the flames. That a girl who followed him dropped through the landing and perished in the flames, all this occurred in the short space of two minutes and communication by the stairs being now cut off, the situation of the persons still in the mill became alarming in the extreme.
To add to the horror of the scene, the flames ascended through a tunnel, which communicated, to the top rooms, were several thousand pounds weight of cotton lay ready to catch the blaze to spread to the awful conflagration. The card room, too, were the fire commenced was filled with cotton in different stages of process and gave to the flames progress.
To attempt to save any part of the property seemed a hopeless effort, and the attention of the person assembled was wholly directed to rescue of the persons within, who were all girls from the fate that awaited them. With this view, a ladder was placed against a small window at the end of the factory, near the manager’s house, and at the greatest distance from the place were the fire had first appeared. But every endeavour to induce the children to approach the ladder was unavailing; on breaking the glass a dense column of smoke which soon burst into a flame; issued from the opening, and it is possible that before the humane effort to rescue the children was made the suffocating influence of the ignited cotton has terminated their suffering.
Renewed efforts prompted by a glimmering hope, efforts were made to ascertain the place where the poor children might have fled and to rescue them from the flames but in the midst of exertions the roof and floors fell in and hope gave place to despair. In less than half an hour, the entire building, all the machinery, and every article of the stock were destroyed.
From a combination of unfortunate circumstances, the fire was more like an explosion or the conflagration of stubble, than the destruction of a substantial building. Not a vestige of property was saved in the mill but the counting house and warehouse, being protected by a strong iron wall were preserved.
When everything combustible was consumed, diligent search was made for the remains of the children, fourteen of them were found in the course of the day; the others have doubtless been reduced to ashes. At the time of the fire, 26 persons were at work in the mill of whom nine escaped and seventeen perished.
Nine days after the factory holocaust at Colne Bridge, Huddersfield which shocked the nation, Sir Robert Peel the elder moved the second reading in the house of commons of his factory Bill declaring “It was his intention if possible to prevent a recurrence of such a misfortune as that which had lately taken place. It was his wish to have no night work at all in the factories.

From medieval times until the 19^th century, there have been recorded Iron workings at Colne Bridge. This is accounted for by the close proximity of the better bed of coal and the black bed coal plus Ironstone, in monastic times Iron was worked in the neibourhood by the monks appear to have confined them selves to digging in the better bed.
Indications of this at lambcote, but the main workings were at Bradley wood there the better bed had under lying Iron Stone nodules below the coal, which produced the iron.
The chartularies of Fountains Abbey give the first records of iron mining in the district, Ralph Fitz-Nichols of Cridling gave to the monks in the wood at Bradley all the wood required for the smelting and for Charcoal and what ever ironstone they could find.
They might move their forge from place to place with his permission; the site of these works is near to the river Calder. The first record of a forge at Colne Bridge is in the Will of 1560 Thomas Beaumont of Lascells Hall which states that he had been in possession of a Water Mill at a place could Colne-Smithye with three Cottages, loft, Croft and a parcel of land could Smithie-place.
Later records show the forge to be in the ownership of Thomas Dickins until his death in 1699. In his Will he states I do give to the poor of Kirkheaton the sum of six shillings and eight pence, as long as I have the lease of Colne Bridge forge.
Dickins was the inventor of the early form of rolling mill recorded by Ralph Thurby in 1715, described as the most remarkable iron forge that might serve Vulcan himself, and a rolling mill that Mr Dickins has erected for rolling plates of iron into bars.
There are records that show the family in possession in the year 1701,
Francis Watts succeeded to the forge and ran the business till his death in 1737, he left in his Will £10 to his Clerk John Brook who succeeded him, John improved the output to reach 150 tons per annum.
In that year, his prosperity is recorded in the diary of John Turner 1756 when he purchased property in Kirkheaton to the value of £3,000 having an annual rental of £110.
In 1760 the forge amalgamated with Kirkstall Forge Leeds, John Brook died in 1771 and was succeeded by his nineteen year old son as manager, during this period Charles Brook started rolling hoops for the first time, and also building Colne Bridge House.
In 1776, Charles Brook gave up with the forge and took a position of steward to Sir John Armytage of Kirklees, the fortune of the forge declined.

Highway Robberies
There was a great depression over Yorkshire and the rest of the country throughout the 1830's. Conditions in the countryside were very similar to those in the early years of the century. Wages of eight or nine shillings a week reduced thousands of agricultural workers to starvation
While many poor labourers accepted their fate, some like Joseph Senior turned to crime to implement their meagre wages. Sometime in early 1830, he formed a close friendship with William Brummitt, and together they embarked upon a series of highway robberies. According to his trial records Joseph was the ringleader, he was twenty-three at the time; Brummitt was 34 years.
On 2 November 1830, they held up Saul Jessop and stole five-pound notes and a quantity of silver coins when he was returning from Huddersfield market. Their next victim was Joshua Hirst of Dalton, from whom they stole a number of golden sovereigns and some silver. Both robberies were carried out on the Huddersfield/Wakefield Road. Eventually the pair were apprehended and taken under military escort to York Castle where they were incarcerated pending trial.
On 19 March 1831, the trial of Joseph Senior and William Brummitt took place at York Assizes. Accounts of the trial appeared in the York Gazette and Leeds Mercury. After the trial, at which Jessop and Hirst both give evidence, the two were found guilty and sentenced to death, but this was later commuted to Life and Transportation.
Joseph spent the next five months in a prison hulk before embarking at Plymouth on 2 August 1831, with two hundred and twenty male convicts aboard the Strathfieldsay, which arrived in Van Diemans Land on 15 November 1831. The ships master was William Harrison, and David Rose the ships surgeon. The physical description recorded on Joseph's convict papers say he was 24, 5ft and 3 inches tall, with brown eyes and dark complexion. He was surly and had a mole on his right breast. It was usual for convicts to be put to work in occupations that they were familiar with and as Joseph had been a gardener in Lepton, it was logical that he should carry out similar work in Australia. He was put to work on the Brickenden Estate near Longford. Brickenden was one of Australia's most important colonial properties, established by William Archer in 1823.
However, Joseph was a rebel and could not keep out of trouble. On 31 May 1832, he was charged with being absent without leave from his assigned duties, and was sentenced to fifty lashes with the cat. This did nothing to stop his rebellious behaviour. At the beginning of July 1833, he was again charged with being absent without leave, and given another twenty-five lashes. However, even this did not curb his rebellious streak. In December 1833, he received anther fifty lashes for being drunk, using obscene language and having two female convicts in his hut. This flogging appears to have done the trick for in 1836 he received permission to marry another convict, Sara Williams. The marriage was solemnized in the Parch Church of Longford on 9 March 1836.

An inquest was held at the house of Mr John Gummersall the Black Horse Inn Dalton on Tuesday afternoon before Mr Ingham deputy coroner on the body of John Dransfield Alias Hirst aged Twenty-Seven Years.
The following gentlemen were sworn in the jury: - John Beaumont Forman, Hirst, Tolson, Kaye, Gelder, Bailey, Byram, Atkinson, Brook, Jenson and Battye, Mr Sykes solicitor of Huddersfield watch the case on behalf of friends of the family.
John Gummersall landlord of the Black Horse Dalton said I know the deceased; his name was John Dransfield alias Hirst of Nab Hill Dalton. He was a Fancy weaver by trade. He came into my house on Monday night 25^th March 1861 at about 12 o’clock, I did not see him come in, we were very busy it being club night.
When I first saw him, he appeared very quiet and peaceable. The accused Paul Kaye was there also John Pollard, and several others about twenty altogether none of the party were drunk.
Just previous to me closing my house at about 1 O’clock, the deceased and Kaye had some words, as to who should pay for a pint of ale, deceased and Kaye as to who should pay for a pint of ale, the deceased said Kaye owed him 2p, which Kaye denied and they began to called each other liars.
Deceased said to Kaye “I don’t care for you anyway” and Kaye replied the same words. Deceased said I’ll make you care “I’ll fight you.” At the same time, he thru off his coat and Kaye said he was no fighter and did not mean fighting. I then interfered and, Kaye wanted to go home, so I moved aside to allow him to pass.
He went passed and the deceased followed, I gave Thomas Mitchell the deceased coat to take to him. I closed the door and began securing the house as it was then cleared of company.
After a few minuets had elapsed and the deceased was in the habit of making a disturbance when he left the house excited, I went to the door and opened it partially because I was surprised at him being quiet. I herd voices at the end of the house and walked down a little way, when I saw Mitchell, Henry Kaye, John Hirst, Thomas Kaye and John Pollard Standing against the garden wall, and asked were the deceased and Kaye had gone to.
From what I was told, I looked and saw something white laid against the same wall, just five or six yard farther on, I made inquires and they said Kaye and the deceased were fighting. Asked if they were throttling each other, as is a common occurrence in the district and they said “No” and in a jocular way, that they were praying, I could not see who was uppermost.
They were both stripped, directly there was a violent struggle and they both regained their feet and started kicking and hitting each other. I believe they had shoes on. The blows took effect on their heads, the kicks I should think on the legs. I was eight or ten yard off, Kaye struck the deceased on the head, which coursed him to reet a little. He gained his feet and continued to fight. Deceased said he would give up or yield the fight and they did so and were quite, after I came from the house they were not fighting for more than a minute.
I told Kaye I was surprised at him and that I should have to report it to the police, as he is reckoned so quite, he replied that it was the fist time he had fought in his life and should not have done it but he was bound to do it. There was no seconded kicking. Pollard said they would take the deceased with them, and called him to go away, but the deceased moaned and begged to be left, moaning to hurt.Pollard called Mitchell and they took the deceased eventually away, Kaye walked before them and I returned to the house. I did not see the deceased coat after I gave it to Mitchell.
I saw Kaye take his coat of the wall and put it on. I did not see the deceased again, I am told he died Saturday night about ten o’clock. For anything I never saw, Kaye is a quit lad particular so for the neighbourhood.
By the jury: it was a moonlight night, I never saw any fight between them before. I did not hear the deceased speak; Kaye was perfectly sober and did not seek a quarrel.
By the Coroner: Kaye could have got away from the deceased if he liked.
By the jury: deceased was notorious as a fighter in when in liquor, when in liquor I have seen him common fighting and had to turn him out of the house.
By Mr Sykes: deceased leaned is head against the wall when he gave up the fight.
Thomas Mitchell Fancy Weaver of Dalton Bank said I knew the deceased, and was with him at this house Monday night week; I was there before he came in about half past Ten O’clock after our lodge had closed.
Kaye and he came in together I believe from Huddersfield, they were not sober yet not drunk. They were drinking ale together but I do not know the quantity, we had sat for an hour or two in cheerful company, and Kaye and the deceased began fratching about a few coppers and called each other liars.
The deceased took off his coat and challenged Kaye to fight. Kaye said he did not want to fight, and the deceased continued to pushing him about trying to get him to fight, and called a liar. Kaye still declined to fight and they both went out of the house. Kaye called the deceased the same.
At last, Kaye said he would fight him and strip off his coat. Thy started to fight at the end of the house and struck each other. They came close and fell to the ground. The deceased was underneath; they did not fall very heavily. They lay about minutes before they moved.
Kaye first moved and struck him on the left side with his feet. The landlord (the last witness) came out off the house while they were down, and they jumped up and started fighting again striking and kicking each other several times.
The blows from the fists were about the head and the kicks about the legs. I noticed in particular that Kaye kicked the deceased at the bottom of the belly. I did not think it was a kick sufficient to make a large wound but it seemed to hurt him.
After this kick several blows were struck by both and the deceased gave in. He leaned his head on the shutters, and then crossed over, when he cried out “Oh my belly” I hold him up as he could hardly stand, and Pollard put his coat on. I left Pollard with him, but Pollard called me back and I walked him home.
When I was coming away, he went into the field and lay down. He did not stay there in a minuet we lifted on our shoulders and carried him to his gate.
I visited him several times and was with all one night but I did not hear him say a word that he should die. On Thursday, he be very weak, and saw him on Saturday afternoon he was sensible but rambled a little at times.
Mr George Gardner Doctor of medicine, Moldgreen said I was called about one o’clock on Tuesday the 26^th last to attend the deceased, I found him complaining very much with pain in his belly, and attended him till his death.
My opinion was that his belly had ruptured and treat him accordingly. He died on Saturday from inflammation of the lining membrane of the belly, caused by urine. I have since made a post mortem examination assisted by Mr Tatterson of Lepton and found rupture of the bladder, which no doubt was the cause of death. From the evidence I have heard, the kick described by Mitchell was very likely the cause.
By the foreman, these injuries must have been caused by a direct blow.

John Pollard of Nab Hill was then called at the request of Mr Jebson Juryman; he fully corroborated the evidence of Mr Mitchell. He noticed the deceased received a particular kick on the lower part of the belly from Kaye. He cried out his belly was hurt and said Kaye had poised him on the belly. Paul Kaye was then called forwards by the coroner and after being duly warned declined to say anything. The jury returned a verdict of manslaughter against Paul Kaye, and he was fully committed for trail on the coroners warrant at the next assizes. The enquirer lasted three hours, bail was allowed.

Boy Killed in Church Tower	Inquest from 21st December 1861 Huddersfield Weekly Examiner
Atkinson Mill Fire Colne Bridge 1818	Leeds Mercury 21^st February 1818
Colne Bridge Forge	Huddersfield Examiner 1933
Highway Robberies	From Jeff Stafford
Manslaughter at Dalton	Huddersfield Weekly Examiner