Castle Hill, Huddersfield
Encyclopedia
Taken and adapted from Rumsby, J. 'A Castle Well Guarded: the archaeology and history of Castle Hill, Almondbury'
Castle Hill is a Scheduled Ancient Monument
situated on a hilltop overlooking Huddersfield
, in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees
. It has been settled for at least 4,000 years. Experts regard it as one of Yorkshire's most important early Iron Age
hill forts. The summit of Castle Hill is by far the most conspicuous landmark in Huddersfield. The Hill has been a place of recreation for hundreds of years and the easily discernible remains of past occupation have made it a subject for legend, speculation and scientific study. It can be located on UK Maps .
sandstone, which has protected the softer stone beneath from erosion. The slopes below Castle Hill are formed from alternating deposits of shale
and harder sandstone
s and form a series of slopes and benches. Five coal seams lie within the shales of the lower slopes some of which have been extensively worked along the hillside, by adit
s and shafts. Workings are visible in several places on the hillsides, and there is also evidence of old quarries, now infilled.
age, camping amongst the forests which at that time covered the land. In the Neolithic
and Bronze Age
, there appears to have been widespread travel or trade along the river valleys connecting the Yorkshire Wolds
, the Peak District
and the Mersey
and Ribble
estuaries. This is shown by various characteristic types of stone and bronze tools in a place far from their points of origin. The hillfort was constructed in the early Iron Age, around 555BC taking up the whole hilltop. Modifications were made around AD43 to improve the defences, probably in response to the new threat from the Roman Empire
.
The banks and ditches that remain are not those left by the Iron Age people. They are much more the result of recutting and other alterations carried out during the Middle Ages
, and then modified by centuries of erosion. After the Norman Conquest of 1066, Almondbury
became part of the territory known as the Honour of Pontefract
, which was held by the de Laci family. It was they who established a small Castle
on the hill. The castle is mentioned in a charter of King Stephen
to Henry de Laci of about 1142 to 1154, and archaeological excavation has provided a wooden stake, radiocarbon-dated to the late 1140s, and a coin of about 1160. It can be assumed that the castle was complete and occupied by the 1140s.
In the early 14th century there was an attempt to found a town on the hill. It was laid out in the lower bailey, and possibly elsewhere on the hill. Aerial photography revealed a central roadway flanked by regularly laid-out plots. The town was probably abandoned by the 1340s, although memory of it may have lingered, since the map of Almondbury drawn up in 1634 marks the hill as the site of a town. After the end of the Middle Ages, Castle Hill remained uninhabited until the early 19th century. Its prominent position made it an ideal site for a warning beacon, as part of a network of such beacons on other prominent hills all over the country, spreading out in lines from the coast.
rallies were held on the hill at least four times, in 1843 and 1848. During the great weavers’ strike of 1883 a rally of between two and three thousand people braved bitter weather to listen to speeches by union leaders. A tavern to cater for pleasure-seekers was first built on the hill in about 1810-11. A bowling green was formerly situated to the south of the hotel. Other pursuits are recorded at Castle Hill included bare-knuckled prize fights, dogfights
and cockfight
s.
By 1897 Queen Victoria had reigned over the British Empire
for sixty years, longer than any other monarch. A permanent memorial of this event was planned in the form of a tower perched on the hill overlooking the town of Huddersfield. Despite some difficulty raising the money required, the tower was opened by the Earl of Scarborough
on 24 June 1899. Although often referred to as the Jubilee Tower, the correct name is the Victoria Tower. Designed by Isaac Jones of London
, it was built by the firm of Ben Graham and Sons of Folly Hall, using stone from Crosland Hill
. It cost £3,298, and was 106 feet (32.3 m) high, which, added to the height of the hill itself, made the top 1,000 feet (305 m) above sea level.
During the Second World War it was suggested that the Tower should be pulled down, to prevent it from being used as a navigation aid by German
bomber
s. A few bombs were dropped near the Tower in 1940 and 1941, but were probably just randomly jettisoned.
There was an anti-aircraft battery near the south-east end of the hill and a range finder
is located at the north side of the outer bailey, the remains of which may be seen, and pieces of High explosive shell casings are occasionally picked up in the adjacent fields. These are often incorrectly referred to as shrapnel, which contained machined ball bearings around an explosive charge set to project them at a given altitude, or on impact.
Today the hill retains the remnants of all these past uses, and is a popular site for local people and tourists. Overhead electricity cables were replaced below ground (2006) to enable kite users to make use of the hilltop winds.
from Kirklees Borough Council, and applied for planning permission to renovate it. The planning approval required some of the original walls to be retained, the original dimensions to be kept and the cellars to be kept with no increase in the overall size of the building. Local stone was also required to be used in keeping with the farm buildings and housing in the area.
During the rebuilding the brothers totally demolished the pub, dug out and increased the size of the cellars, the height of the roofline and the plan dimensions of the original building. These were noted in Huddersfield Civic Society Newsletter 2004, page 8. Concerned local residents objected and after several ignored warnings, by the building inspectors, the local council halted the building work. Eventually, after 3 years and a lengthy court battle, the pub was fully demolished, the cellars were filled in with the building rubble and the area covered. The steel girders used in the construction were cleared from the site by an outside contractor.
Subsequent plans submitted by the brothers to rebuild the pub have been rejected by the council as they did not comply with the requirements previously specified to them. The matter remains unresolved.
Castle Hill is a Scheduled Ancient Monument
Scheduled Ancient Monument
In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a 'nationally important' archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorized change. The various pieces of legislation used for legally protecting heritage assets from damage and destruction are grouped under the term...
situated on a hilltop overlooking Huddersfield
Huddersfield
Huddersfield is a large market town within the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, England, situated halfway between Leeds and Manchester. It lies north of London, and south of Bradford, the nearest city....
, in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees
Kirklees
The Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees is a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, England. It has a population of 401,000 and includes the settlements of Batley, Birstall, Cleckheaton, Denby Dale, Dewsbury, Heckmondwike, Holmfirth, Huddersfield, Kirkburton, Marsden, Meltham, Mirfield and Slaithwaite...
. It has been settled for at least 4,000 years. Experts regard it as one of Yorkshire's most important early Iron Age
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the archaeological period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing...
hill forts. The summit of Castle Hill is by far the most conspicuous landmark in Huddersfield. The Hill has been a place of recreation for hundreds of years and the easily discernible remains of past occupation have made it a subject for legend, speculation and scientific study. It can be located on UK Maps .
Geology
The hill owes its shape to an outlying cap of hard GrenosideGrenoside
Grenoside is a suburb of Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England.-History:The name Grenoside is derived from the language of the Anglo-Saxons. The name Grenoside, which was first recorded in the thirteenth century as Gravenhou, is made up of the different elements. Gren from the Old English graefan...
sandstone, which has protected the softer stone beneath from erosion. The slopes below Castle Hill are formed from alternating deposits of shale
Shale
Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock composed of mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals and tiny fragments of other minerals, especially quartz and calcite. The ratio of clay to other minerals is variable. Shale is characterized by breaks along thin laminae or parallel layering...
and harder sandstone
Sandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
s and form a series of slopes and benches. Five coal seams lie within the shales of the lower slopes some of which have been extensively worked along the hillside, by adit
Adit
An adit is an entrance to an underground mine which is horizontal or nearly horizontal, by which the mine can be entered, drained of water, and ventilated.-Construction:...
s and shafts. Workings are visible in several places on the hillsides, and there is also evidence of old quarries, now infilled.
Early History
The first people to set eyes on Castle Hill were probably hunters and gatherers of the MesolithicMesolithic
The Mesolithic is an archaeological concept used to refer to certain groups of archaeological cultures defined as falling between the Paleolithic and the Neolithic....
age, camping amongst the forests which at that time covered the land. In the Neolithic
Neolithic
The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...
and Bronze Age
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
, there appears to have been widespread travel or trade along the river valleys connecting the Yorkshire Wolds
Yorkshire Wolds
The Yorkshire Wolds are low hills in the counties of East Riding of Yorkshire and North Yorkshire in northeastern England. The name also applies to the district in which the hills lie....
, the Peak District
Peak District
The Peak District is an upland area in central and northern England, lying mainly in northern Derbyshire, but also covering parts of Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Staffordshire, and South and West Yorkshire....
and the Mersey
Mersey
Mersey may refer to:* River Mersey, in northwest England* Mersea Island, off the coast of Essex in England * Mersey River in the Australian state* Electoral division of Mersey in the state of Tasmania, Australian...
and Ribble
River Ribble
The River Ribble is a river that runs through North Yorkshire and Lancashire, in northern England. The river's drainage basin also includes parts of Greater Manchester around Wigan.-Geography:...
estuaries. This is shown by various characteristic types of stone and bronze tools in a place far from their points of origin. The hillfort was constructed in the early Iron Age, around 555BC taking up the whole hilltop. Modifications were made around AD43 to improve the defences, probably in response to the new threat from the Roman Empire
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
.
The banks and ditches that remain are not those left by the Iron Age people. They are much more the result of recutting and other alterations carried out during the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
, and then modified by centuries of erosion. After the Norman Conquest of 1066, Almondbury
Almondbury
Almondbury is a district 2 miles south east of Huddersfield town centre in West Yorkshire, England. The population of Almondbury in 2001 was 7,368Almondbury appears in the Domesday Book as "Almondeberie"...
became part of the territory known as the Honour of Pontefract
Pontefract
Pontefract is an historic market town in West Yorkshire, England. Traditionally in the West Riding, near the A1 , the M62 motorway and Castleford. It is one of the five towns in the metropolitan borough of the City of Wakefield and has a population of 28,250...
, which was held by the de Laci family. It was they who established a small Castle
Castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...
on the hill. The castle is mentioned in a charter of King Stephen
Stephen of England
Stephen , often referred to as Stephen of Blois , was a grandson of William the Conqueror. He was King of England from 1135 to his death, and also the Count of Boulogne by right of his wife. Stephen's reign was marked by the Anarchy, a civil war with his cousin and rival, the Empress Matilda...
to Henry de Laci of about 1142 to 1154, and archaeological excavation has provided a wooden stake, radiocarbon-dated to the late 1140s, and a coin of about 1160. It can be assumed that the castle was complete and occupied by the 1140s.
In the early 14th century there was an attempt to found a town on the hill. It was laid out in the lower bailey, and possibly elsewhere on the hill. Aerial photography revealed a central roadway flanked by regularly laid-out plots. The town was probably abandoned by the 1340s, although memory of it may have lingered, since the map of Almondbury drawn up in 1634 marks the hill as the site of a town. After the end of the Middle Ages, Castle Hill remained uninhabited until the early 19th century. Its prominent position made it an ideal site for a warning beacon, as part of a network of such beacons on other prominent hills all over the country, spreading out in lines from the coast.
Modern history
Castle Hill’s flat top was a useful venue for large political, religious and other meetings. ChartistChartism
Chartism was a movement for political and social reform in the United Kingdom during the mid-19th century, between 1838 and 1859. It takes its name from the People's Charter of 1838. Chartism was possibly the first mass working class labour movement in the world...
rallies were held on the hill at least four times, in 1843 and 1848. During the great weavers’ strike of 1883 a rally of between two and three thousand people braved bitter weather to listen to speeches by union leaders. A tavern to cater for pleasure-seekers was first built on the hill in about 1810-11. A bowling green was formerly situated to the south of the hotel. Other pursuits are recorded at Castle Hill included bare-knuckled prize fights, dogfights
Dog fighting
Dog fighting is a form of blood sport in which game dogs are made to fight, sometimes to the death. It is illegal in most developed countries. Dog fighting is used for entertainment and may also generate revenue from stud fees, admission fees and gambling....
and cockfight
Cockfight
A cockfight is a blood sport between two roosters , held in a ring called a cockpit. Cockfighting is now illegal throughout all states in the United States, Brazil, Australia and in most of Europe. It is still legal in several U.S. territories....
s.
By 1897 Queen Victoria had reigned over the British Empire
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
for sixty years, longer than any other monarch. A permanent memorial of this event was planned in the form of a tower perched on the hill overlooking the town of Huddersfield. Despite some difficulty raising the money required, the tower was opened by the Earl of Scarborough
Earl of Scarbrough
Earl of Scarbrough is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1690 for Richard Lumley, 2nd Viscount Lumley. He is best remembered as one of the Immortal Seven who invited William of Orange to invade England and depose his father-in-law James II...
on 24 June 1899. Although often referred to as the Jubilee Tower, the correct name is the Victoria Tower. Designed by Isaac Jones of London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, it was built by the firm of Ben Graham and Sons of Folly Hall, using stone from Crosland Hill
Crosland Moor
Crosland Moor is a district of the town of Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England.It begins 1 mile to the south west of Huddersfield town centre. The electoral ward of Crosland Moor and Netherton, in the Colne Valley constituency...
. It cost £3,298, and was 106 feet (32.3 m) high, which, added to the height of the hill itself, made the top 1,000 feet (305 m) above sea level.
During the Second World War it was suggested that the Tower should be pulled down, to prevent it from being used as a navigation aid by German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
bomber
Bomber
A bomber is a military aircraft designed to attack ground and sea targets, by dropping bombs on them, or – in recent years – by launching cruise missiles at them.-Classifications of bombers:...
s. A few bombs were dropped near the Tower in 1940 and 1941, but were probably just randomly jettisoned.
There was an anti-aircraft battery near the south-east end of the hill and a range finder
Rangefinder
A rangefinder is a device that measures distance from the observer to a target, for the purposes of surveying, determining focus in photography, or accurately aiming a weapon. Some devices use active methods to measure ; others measure distance using trigonometry...
is located at the north side of the outer bailey, the remains of which may be seen, and pieces of High explosive shell casings are occasionally picked up in the adjacent fields. These are often incorrectly referred to as shrapnel, which contained machined ball bearings around an explosive charge set to project them at a given altitude, or on impact.
Today the hill retains the remnants of all these past uses, and is a popular site for local people and tourists. Overhead electricity cables were replaced below ground (2006) to enable kite users to make use of the hilltop winds.
The Castle Hill Pub
A company, owned by two brothers - Mick and Barry Thandi - known as the Thandi Partnership bought the Pub adjacent to the Victoria Tower, which was a Free house, on land leasedLeasing
Leasing is a process by which a firm can obtain the use of a certain fixed assets for which it must pay a series of contractual, periodic, tax deductible payments....
from Kirklees Borough Council, and applied for planning permission to renovate it. The planning approval required some of the original walls to be retained, the original dimensions to be kept and the cellars to be kept with no increase in the overall size of the building. Local stone was also required to be used in keeping with the farm buildings and housing in the area.
During the rebuilding the brothers totally demolished the pub, dug out and increased the size of the cellars, the height of the roofline and the plan dimensions of the original building. These were noted in Huddersfield Civic Society Newsletter 2004, page 8. Concerned local residents objected and after several ignored warnings, by the building inspectors, the local council halted the building work. Eventually, after 3 years and a lengthy court battle, the pub was fully demolished, the cellars were filled in with the building rubble and the area covered. The steel girders used in the construction were cleared from the site by an outside contractor.
Subsequent plans submitted by the brothers to rebuild the pub have been rejected by the council as they did not comply with the requirements previously specified to them. The matter remains unresolved.