King Cross
Encyclopedia
King Cross; originally the site of an ancient stone cross is a Ecclesiastical parish created in 1845 in the Metropolitan Borough of Calderdale
, West Yorkshire
, England. Part of the Diocese
of Wakefield
. It is located along the top of a ridge above the town of Halifax
. The A58
road into Lancashire divides here, with one fork, the A646
, branching off towards Burnley
via Hebden Bridge
and the other going to Littleborough
via
Sowerby Bridge
. During the English Civil War
, when Halifax was a Royalist
stronghold,
King Cross was a key outpost, with the Parliamentarians
holding parts of the Calder Valley.
(1642–1646) Halifax was a Royalist
stronghold, with
King Cross as a key outpost, on the roads between Lancashire
and West Yorkshire
, with the Parliamentarians
holding parts of the Calder Valley.
Prior to 1850 the area consisted of small hamlet
s and agricultural fields, in the parish of Halifax. With the onset of the industrial revolution
, through the 18th and 19th centuries, the population steadily grew and King Cross was made a separate parish in 1845. A Commissioners' church
, St. Paul's, designed by Robert Chantrell
in 1845, was built in 1847, with seating for 450 people.
By the end of the 19th century, with a population of some 17,000 people, the older church of St. Paul's, built in 1847, had eventually run out of space for burials. A decision was made in 1909 to build a new church designed by Sir Charles Nicholson
, with seating for 1,000, nearby. Except for the tower it was completed in 1912.
Following a fire in the old St. Pauls in 1930, during which the roof was destroyed, the building was demolished in 1931, leaving only the tower and spire standing. With the increased space burials continued in the graveyard until 1969. With some 1,737 graves in the graveyard the church asked the local council to take over the maintenance of the grounds. The area was eventually designated as a 'rest garden' in 1973, though with some considerable controversy.
The current church of St. Paul's is notable for its acoustics
and an unusual and highly colourful west window, dedicated in 1937 in memory of Canon Hugh Bright and designed by Hugh Easton of Cambridge, who had also designed windows for Canterbury Cathedral
, Exeter Cathedral
and Durham Cathedral
. The window depicts an apocalyptic vision of the Holy City descending upon the smoky mills and railway viaducts of Halifax. The church was built from locally sourced stone, the inside walls being made of ashlar from the quarries at Sowerby
, and the external walls of stone from the quarries of Northowram
and Hipperholme
.
The first vicar of the old St. Paul's church Reverend Samuel Danby, from 1847-1859, married Mary Dorothy Wainhouse, the daughter of Edward Wainhouse, the local dye works
owner, who partly funded the building of the church. The stained glass east window, designed by H.W. Bryans, in the new St. Pauls is dedicated in Edward Wainhouse's memory.
in 1905 the Reverend H.S. Footman, a curate of the old St. Paul's church became the Curate
of the nearby St. Hilda's Mission Church, built in 1898
team known as the King Cross Wesleyan Cricket club, having been formed in 1878 by the Young Men’s Class at the King Cross Wesleyan School. Before moving to the Ramsden Ground in Upper Kingston in 1900 the club started out playing at the nearby Savile Park Moor. The club’s pavilion at West View was known as ‘Duck House’.
, conducted by Arthur Peace was formed in the parish and although little is known of its history it was known to have taken part in local band competitions, with some memorable instances. They appeared at a command performance for Queen Victoria. On 8 August 1902 they played before Edward VII
at Buckingham Palace
and on 21 June 1911 the band returned there again to play before King George V
and Queen Mary
.
to serve the local dye works owned by John Edward Wainhouse, to satisfy the Smoke Abatement Act of 1870. Wainhouse was a keen advocate of smoke prevention and decided that a high chimney on the top of the hill would be beneficial for the townspeople. A much simpler chimney would have satisfied the requirements of the law but with an interest in architecture Wainhouse insisted that it should be an object of beauty. It was erected in just 4 years and completed on 9th September 1875, at a total cost of £14,000. It is the tallest structure in Calderdale
and the tallest folly
in the world. Internally it is 253 feet (77.1 m) feet high and externally 275 feet (83.8 m), being built on sloping ground. It has an internal spiral staircase with 403 steps. The tower is maintained by Calderdale Borough Council and open to visitors at certain times of the year. An urban myth has arisen due to Wainhouse's long-standing conflict with his neighbour, Sir Henry Edwards
, over water rights. Some people think that Wainhouse had built the tower solely in order to overlook Edwards' land after he had been made High Sheriff of Yorkshire
in 1871.
Calderdale
The Metropolitan Borough of Calderdale is a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, England, through which the upper part of the River Calder flows, and from which it takes its name...
, West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire is a metropolitan county within the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England with a population of 2.2 million. West Yorkshire came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972....
, England. Part of the Diocese
Diocese
A diocese is the district or see under the supervision of a bishop. It is divided into parishes.An archdiocese is more significant than a diocese. An archdiocese is presided over by an archbishop whose see may have or had importance due to size or historical significance...
of Wakefield
Wakefield
Wakefield is the main settlement and administrative centre of the City of Wakefield, a metropolitan district of West Yorkshire, England. Located by the River Calder on the eastern edge of the Pennines, the urban area is and had a population of 76,886 in 2001....
. It is located along the top of a ridge above the town of Halifax
Halifax, West Yorkshire
Halifax is a minster town, within the Metropolitan Borough of Calderdale in West Yorkshire, England. It has an urban area population of 82,056 in the 2001 Census. It is well-known as a centre of England's woollen manufacture from the 15th century onward, originally dealing through the Halifax Piece...
. The A58
A58 road
The A58 is a major road in northern England that runs between Prescot, Merseyside and Wetherby, West Yorkshire.It runs north east from Prescot on the outskirts of Liverpool via St Helens, Ashton-in-Makerfield, Hindley, Westhoughton, Bolton, Bury, Heywood, Rochdale and Littleborough then over the...
road into Lancashire divides here, with one fork, the A646
A46 road
The A46 is an A road in England. It starts east of Bath, Somerset and ends in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, but it does not form a continuous route. Large portions of the old road have been lost, bypassed, or replaced by motorway development...
, branching off towards Burnley
Burnley
Burnley is a market town in the Burnley borough of Lancashire, England, with a population of around 73,500. It lies north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Brun....
via Hebden Bridge
Hebden Bridge
Hebden Bridge is a market town within the Metropolitan Borough of Calderdale, in West Yorkshire, England. It forms part of the Upper Calder Valley and lies 8 miles west of Halifax and 14 miles north east of Rochdale, at the confluence of the River Calder and the River Hebden .A 2004 profile of...
and the other going to Littleborough
Littleborough
Littleborough is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale, in Greater Manchester, England. It is located in the upper Roch Valley by the foothills of the South Pennines, northeast of Rochdale and north-northeast of Manchester; Milnrow and the M62 motorway are to the south, and the rural...
via
Sowerby Bridge
Sowerby Bridge
Sowerby Bridge is a market town that lies within the Upper Calder Valley in the district of Calderdale in the county of West Yorkshire, in northern England.-Geography:Sowerby Bridge is situated on the edge of Halifax, about three miles from its centre...
. During the English Civil War
Civil war
A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same nation state or republic, or, less commonly, between two countries created from a formerly-united nation state....
, when Halifax was a Royalist
Royalist
A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of government, but not necessarily a particular monarch...
stronghold,
King Cross was a key outpost, with the Parliamentarians
Roundhead
"Roundhead" was the nickname given to the supporters of the Parliament during the English Civil War. Also known as Parliamentarians, they fought against King Charles I and his supporters, the Cavaliers , who claimed absolute power and the divine right of kings...
holding parts of the Calder Valley.
History
During the First English Civil WarFirst English Civil War
The First English Civil War began the series of three wars known as the English Civil War . "The English Civil War" was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations that took place between Parliamentarians and Royalists from 1642 until 1651, and includes the Second English Civil War and...
(1642–1646) Halifax was a Royalist
Royalist
A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of government, but not necessarily a particular monarch...
stronghold, with
King Cross as a key outpost, on the roads between Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
and West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire is a metropolitan county within the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England with a population of 2.2 million. West Yorkshire came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972....
, with the Parliamentarians
Roundhead
"Roundhead" was the nickname given to the supporters of the Parliament during the English Civil War. Also known as Parliamentarians, they fought against King Charles I and his supporters, the Cavaliers , who claimed absolute power and the divine right of kings...
holding parts of the Calder Valley.
Prior to 1850 the area consisted of small hamlet
Hamlet
The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...
s and agricultural fields, in the parish of Halifax. With the onset of the industrial revolution
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times...
, through the 18th and 19th centuries, the population steadily grew and King Cross was made a separate parish in 1845. A Commissioners' church
Commissioners' church
A Commissioners' church is an Anglican church in the United Kingdom built with money voted by Parliament as a result of the Church Building Act of 1818 and 1824. They have been given a number of titles, including Commissioners' churches, Waterloo churches and Million Act churches...
, St. Paul's, designed by Robert Chantrell
Robert Dennis Chantrell
Robert Dennis Chantrell was an English church architect, best-known today for designing Leeds Parish Church.- Early career :Chantrell was born in Newington, Southwark, London...
in 1845, was built in 1847, with seating for 450 people.
By the end of the 19th century, with a population of some 17,000 people, the older church of St. Paul's, built in 1847, had eventually run out of space for burials. A decision was made in 1909 to build a new church designed by Sir Charles Nicholson
Sir Charles Nicholson, 2nd Baronet
Sir Charles Archibald Nicholson, 2nd Baronet , became well-known as an ecclesiastical architect. He was the son of Sir Charles Nicholson, 1st Baronet, and brother of the stained glass artist Archibald Keightley Nicholson and of Sir Sydney Hugo Nicholson, organist at Westminster Abbey and founder of...
, with seating for 1,000, nearby. Except for the tower it was completed in 1912.
Following a fire in the old St. Pauls in 1930, during which the roof was destroyed, the building was demolished in 1931, leaving only the tower and spire standing. With the increased space burials continued in the graveyard until 1969. With some 1,737 graves in the graveyard the church asked the local council to take over the maintenance of the grounds. The area was eventually designated as a 'rest garden' in 1973, though with some considerable controversy.
The current church of St. Paul's is notable for its acoustics
Acoustics
Acoustics is the interdisciplinary science that deals with the study of all mechanical waves in gases, liquids, and solids including vibration, sound, ultrasound and infrasound. A scientist who works in the field of acoustics is an acoustician while someone working in the field of acoustics...
and an unusual and highly colourful west window, dedicated in 1937 in memory of Canon Hugh Bright and designed by Hugh Easton of Cambridge, who had also designed windows for Canterbury Cathedral
Canterbury Cathedral
Canterbury Cathedral in Canterbury, Kent, is one of the oldest and most famous Christian structures in England and forms part of a World Heritage Site....
, Exeter Cathedral
Exeter Cathedral
Exeter Cathedral, the Cathedral Church of Saint Peter at Exeter, is an Anglican cathedral, and the seat of the Bishop of Exeter, in the city of Exeter, Devon in South West England....
and Durham Cathedral
Durham Cathedral
The Cathedral Church of Christ, Blessed Mary the Virgin and St Cuthbert of Durham is a cathedral in the city of Durham, England, the seat of the Anglican Bishop of Durham. The Bishopric dates from 995, with the present cathedral being founded in AD 1093...
. The window depicts an apocalyptic vision of the Holy City descending upon the smoky mills and railway viaducts of Halifax. The church was built from locally sourced stone, the inside walls being made of ashlar from the quarries at Sowerby
Sowerby, West Yorkshire
Sowerby is a village within the Metropolitan Borough of Calderdale, in West Yorkshire, England. It lies amongst the Pennines, contiguous with Sowerby Bridge, west-southwest of Halifax and west-northwest of Huddersfield....
, and the external walls of stone from the quarries of Northowram
Northowram
Northowram is a village in Calderdale, West Yorkshire, England that stands to the east of Halifax on the north side of Shibden valley. Southowram stands on the southern side of the valley....
and Hipperholme
Hipperholme
Hipperholme is a village in the Calderdale area of West Yorkshire, England, located between the towns of Halifax and Brighouse. It is located on the busy A58 road and includes Hipperholme Grammar School, a local private school....
.
The first vicar of the old St. Paul's church Reverend Samuel Danby, from 1847-1859, married Mary Dorothy Wainhouse, the daughter of Edward Wainhouse, the local dye works
Dye
A dye is a colored substance that has an affinity to the substrate to which it is being applied. The dye is generally applied in an aqueous solution, and requires a mordant to improve the fastness of the dye on the fiber....
owner, who partly funded the building of the church. The stained glass east window, designed by H.W. Bryans, in the new St. Pauls is dedicated in Edward Wainhouse's memory.
in 1905 the Reverend H.S. Footman, a curate of the old St. Paul's church became the Curate
Curate
A curate is a person who is invested with the care or cure of souls of a parish. In this sense "curate" correctly means a parish priest but in English-speaking countries a curate is an assistant to the parish priest...
of the nearby St. Hilda's Mission Church, built in 1898
Cricket
The King Cross Cricket Club, was originally a Sunday SchoolSunday school
Sunday school is the generic name for many different types of religious education pursued on Sundays by various denominations.-England:The first Sunday school may have been opened in 1751 in St. Mary's Church, Nottingham. Another early start was made by Hannah Ball, a native of High Wycombe in...
team known as the King Cross Wesleyan Cricket club, having been formed in 1878 by the Young Men’s Class at the King Cross Wesleyan School. Before moving to the Ramsden Ground in Upper Kingston in 1900 the club started out playing at the nearby Savile Park Moor. The club’s pavilion at West View was known as ‘Duck House’.
King Cross Prize Band
At some point in the late 1800s a Brass bandBrass band
A brass band is a musical ensemble generally consisting entirely of brass instruments, most often with a percussion section. Ensembles that include brass and woodwind instruments can in certain traditions also be termed brass bands , but are usually more correctly termed military bands, concert...
, conducted by Arthur Peace was formed in the parish and although little is known of its history it was known to have taken part in local band competitions, with some memorable instances. They appeared at a command performance for Queen Victoria. On 8 August 1902 they played before Edward VII
Edward VII of the United Kingdom
Edward VII was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910...
at Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace, in London, is the principal residence and office of the British monarch. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is a setting for state occasions and royal hospitality...
and on 21 June 1911 the band returned there again to play before King George V
George V of the United Kingdom
George V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 through the First World War until his death in 1936....
and Queen Mary
Mary of Teck
Mary of Teck was the queen consort of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress of India, as the wife of King-Emperor George V....
.
King Cross Police Sub-Station
The area's first police station stood at the junction of Warley Road and Burnley Road on the site of a former Methodist chapel. The foundation stone was laid on 15 September 1910 and the station opened in May 1911. It had the Latin motto: "Ignorantia legis excusat neminem" (Ignorance of the law excuses no-one) over the entrance. Following redevelopment in 1973 the building was demolished.Wainhouse tower
Wainhouse Tower, designed by architect Isaac Booth, was originally designed as a chimneyChimney
A chimney is a structure for venting hot flue gases or smoke from a boiler, stove, furnace or fireplace to the outside atmosphere. Chimneys are typically vertical, or as near as possible to vertical, to ensure that the gases flow smoothly, drawing air into the combustion in what is known as the...
to serve the local dye works owned by John Edward Wainhouse, to satisfy the Smoke Abatement Act of 1870. Wainhouse was a keen advocate of smoke prevention and decided that a high chimney on the top of the hill would be beneficial for the townspeople. A much simpler chimney would have satisfied the requirements of the law but with an interest in architecture Wainhouse insisted that it should be an object of beauty. It was erected in just 4 years and completed on 9th September 1875, at a total cost of £14,000. It is the tallest structure in Calderdale
Calderdale
The Metropolitan Borough of Calderdale is a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, England, through which the upper part of the River Calder flows, and from which it takes its name...
and the tallest folly
Folly
In architecture, a folly is a building constructed primarily for decoration, but either suggesting by its appearance some other purpose, or merely so extravagant that it transcends the normal range of garden ornaments or other class of building to which it belongs...
in the world. Internally it is 253 feet (77.1 m) feet high and externally 275 feet (83.8 m), being built on sloping ground. It has an internal spiral staircase with 403 steps. The tower is maintained by Calderdale Borough Council and open to visitors at certain times of the year. An urban myth has arisen due to Wainhouse's long-standing conflict with his neighbour, Sir Henry Edwards
Sir Henry Edwards, 1st Baronet
Sir Henry Edwards, 1st Baronet CB was an English Conservative politician who sat in the House of Commons in two periods between 1847 and 1869.Edwards was the son of Henry Lees Edwards and Lea Priestley. He was J.P...
, over water rights. Some people think that Wainhouse had built the tower solely in order to overlook Edwards' land after he had been made High Sheriff of Yorkshire
High Sheriff of Yorkshire
The High Sheriff of Yorkshire was an ancient High Sheriff title originating in the time of the Angles, not long after the invasion of the Kingdom of England, which was in existence for around a thousand years. A list of the sheriffs from the Norman conquest onwards can be found below...
in 1871.