HISTORY OF RAVENSKNOWLE
by Legh Tolson
and
SCHEME FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF A LOCAL MUSEUM
by T. W. Woodhead
INTRODUCTION
The following scheme for the development of a Local Museum
was laid before representative members of the Huddersfield
corporation, at a meeting held at the Town Hall, on August
8th, 1919, under the Chairmanship of the Mayor, Alderman
Carmi Smith, J.P. Mr. Legh Tolson was also present. After
careful consideration it was agreed to recommend the scheme
for adoption by the County Borough Council, and through
the kindness of Alderman Wilfrid Dawson, it was printed
and circulated to the members of the Corporation. Mr Legh
Tolson’s generous offer of Ravensknowle Hall and Grounds,
was accepted by the Council at their meeting held on July
16th, 1919, and the deed of gift, to which a copy of the
Museum Scheme was attached, was completed on December 31st,
1919.
To meet demands for copies of the Museum Scheme, this new
edition has been prepared, by request of the Committee,
and the opportunity has been taken to slightly expand the
original condensed statement, so as to make it more generally
useful.
At my request, Mr. Tolson has very kindly allowed us to
include in this Handbook his account of the history of Ravensknowle.
On May 14th, 1921, the grounds were opened to the public,
and since then considerable progress has been made by the
Head Gardener, Mr. W. Forbes, and his staff, in carrying
out the necessary alterations.
To the right of the main entrance, Tennis Courts have been
provided on the site of the kitchen garden, and opposite
the south front of the Hall a Bowling Green has been made
on the site of a former Tennis Court.
The shrubberies are being considerably modified and stocked
with an interesting collection of forest trees and shrubs,
also new herbaceous borders, rock and water gardens have
been planned. In this work the Committee is greatly indebted
to Sir Isaac Bayley Balfour, Director of the Royal Botanic
Garden, Edinburgh, for his generous gift of a large number
of plants, and for his kindly interest in our scheme.
The band stand in the Recreation Grounds is from Royds
Hall, and is the one used at the Military Hospital there
during the Great War.
The Sundial to the west of the Bowling Green has been made
and presented by Mr. Alfred Hadaway, of Dalton, and rests
on a large ice-transported sandstone boulder found at Hillhouse
in the deposits above the shales in the works of the Huddersfield
Brick, Tile and Stone company, by whom it was kindly given.
It is with much pleasure we record the readiness with which
many residents in the neighbourhood have volunteered to
act as Stewards, and to encourage visitors to appreciate
their own property and protect it from damage. Very gratifying,
too, is the sincere appreciation of the public for the provision
of this beautiful spot as a place for rest and recreation
in the midst of a crowded population.
In April, 1920, the Governors of the Technical College
agreed to transfer to Ravensknowle a large number of cabinets,
cases and specimens in their possession. The principal collections
were the Alfred Beaumont Collection of British Birds, the
Samuel Learoyd collection of Minerals, the Cases and Collections
of the Literary and Scientific Society, also a considerable
number of specimens brought together by Mr. S. L. Mosley
during the time he was Curator of the College Museum. At
the time of the transfer, Mr. Mosley was invited to continue
as Curator of the Tolson Memorial Museum, under the direction
of the Committee, and develop it on the lines suggested
in the scheme adopted by the council. Mr. Charles Mosley
was appointed Assistant Curator and Clerk to the committee.
Since the transfer, the Curator and his staff have been
working assiduously in preparing objects for the Museum,
and it is hoped the work will be sufficiently advanced to
justify an opening at Easter, 1922.
At a meeting of the County Borough Council held October
19th this year, it was decided to transfer the Meteorological
Instruments from Edgerton Cemetery to Ravensknowle, and
establish a new station was founded in 1876 by the late
Mr. James Firth, who was formerly Head Gardener for Mr.
Wm. Edwards Hirst, at Lascelles Hall. The remarkably hot
and dry summer of 1868 first aroused in Mr. Firth an interest
in weather phenomena. He had previously made isolated notes
of outstanding occurrences, especially the intense frost
of 1860.
In the severe winter of 1870-1, when 33 deg. Of frost were
registered on New Year’s Day, he decided to commence
regular observations of the weather. From December 21st,
1870, this daily local record of the weather was continued
in an unbroken sequence.
From 1871 to 1875, Mr. Firth supplied monthly and yearly
summaries of his observations to the local press; and on
his appointment as Registrar of Edgerton of Edgerton Cemetery
in 1876 he transferred his instruments, and continued the
work there until his decease in 1895. meanwhile there had
been a general development in the science of Meteorology,
and these records gained in value with the lapse of time.
Weekly reports were supplied to the Medical Officer of Health
and also to the Registrar general in London.
Twenty-seven years ago Mr. Joe Firth succeeded his father.
The renewal of some of the instruments became necessary,
and a reorganization of the station took place to meet the
requirements of the Meteorological Office in London, so
as to bring it into line with other towns, and obtain official
recognition as the local Meteorological Station in connection
with the Office. Extensive detailed weekly and monthly returns
were now furnished, which were added to 1910, when a rearrangement
was affected, and the County Borough Council undertook the
whole of the upkeep of the Station. The following is a list
of the present instruments; Standard Kew Barometer, Standard
8-in. Rain Gauge, Clockwork Self-Recording Rain Gauge, Anemometer,
and the following Thermometers, Solar Maximum, Grass Minimum,
Shade Minimum, Shade Maximum, Dry and Wet Bulbs, Earth Thermometers,
1ft. and 4ft. underground. The transference will take place
at the end of the present year, and Mr. Charles Mosley has
been appointed Recorder.
The photograph of Ravensknowle Hall was taken by Mr. W.H.
Sikes in October, 1919, and shows the south front of the
Hall while Mr. Tolson was still in residence there. Mr.
Sikes also supplied the photograph for some of the figures
included in this booklet.
The two plans in the booklet prepared by Mr. H. Sutcliffe,
the Borough Architect, show the sequence of rooms in the
Museum, and are numbered in the order to be visited so as
to follow the history and development of the district.
The generous assistance rendered by all sections to make
the Museum thoroughly representative, is evidence of their
appreciation of its value to the community, and we look
forward confidently to still further aid as the scheme becomes
more widely known.
The willingness with which leading authorities in their
several departments of knowledge are helping us to build
up a Museum worthy of its object, its donor, and of our
town, is one of the most pleasing and encouraging features.
Science and art are instinctive givers, and it is to this
spirit we owe what is most valuable in our scheme.
T.W. WOODHEAD
Technical College
October 26th, 1921.
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