High Days and Holidays in Honley
The group’s latest publication High Days and Holidays in Honley makes the most of our archive with over three dozen pictures of the way villagers have celebrated across the past century and more.
The most typical events include Walks and Sings, usually as an excuse to dress in their finest clothes and walk round the village accompanied by the local band to then join in singing hymns for religious festivals – Easter and Whitsun – or for Honley Feast in the autumn.
Each page has an illustration and a short caption explaining the event depicted, from royal coronations to public house outings, coming right up to date with the Honley Remembers celebrations in July 2019.
The book is in A5 format and costs only £5.00. It is available from Holme Valley News in Honley and other valley outlets.
It can be purchased direct from Honley Civic Society plus £2.00 postage and packing.
HONLEY, PEOPLE PLACES AND PLACENAMES
by George Redmonds
Published by GR Books this is book has been written by the well-known local historian who died in 2018. Honley Civic Society has acquired a number of copies to sell and these are now available by post and at society meetings.
88 pages including photographs and maps, £4.95 plus £2.00 postage
Honley Remembers, Village Life in the Great War
A natural follow up to Honley in the Great War, our next title concentrates on the villagers and their contribution to the events of 1914 to 1919. The book has been published to coincide with the Honley Remembers celebrations in the village over the weekend of 20th and 21st July 2019.
SORRY THIS BOOK IS NOW OUT OF PRINT
MAGDALE AND STEPS
by Alan J Brooke
Written by an author with a strong sense of attachment to the place, this work describes the evolution of the small community of Magdale near Honley from the days of the handloom weavers, through the industrial revolution to the heyday of textile manufacturing.
The lives of people from farm labourers to woollen manufacturers are depicted, sometimes in vivid detail, against the wider background of rapid social change, culminating in the tragedy of the First World War.
The book has 88 pages and is priced at £10.00.
HOPE BANK PICTORIAL
An album of 42 pictures, both black and white and colour, many of which have been given to Honley Civic Society since the publication in 2002 of Hope Bank, Honley’s Pleasure Grounds.
Most of the pictures have not been seen for many years and depict the grounds as laid out by the owner, John Mellor.
Honley Civic Society has assembled the postcards and family snaps, which make up the book, into a pocket sized album, ideal as a gift. The book has 40 pages and is priced at £5.00.
I REMEMBER…My 1920s Childhood in Honley
By Margaret M Lumb
The author was born Margaret Kinder, her father being Ben Kinder a representative for fine worsteds, with an office in Cloth Hall Street.
She recalls family life at home in Bradshaw Road in Honley and with the neighbours, the Oldfields who were also well-known in the village.
A short chapter on her father Ben Kinder is included since he was one of the founders of Honley Male Voice Choir
40 pages with 26 illustrations in colour and b&w. £5.00
H
ONLEY NATIONAL SCHOOL 1816 – 1952
Honley National School sits in the centre of the village and has played a central role in the life of generations of villagers. Although it is today an Infants’ school, the ‘Nash’, as many knew it, provided an education up to the age of 14 years.
Reliant on the research done by a late member of Honley Civic Society, Bob Etherington, the text has been enhanced with details of the staff and some of the pupils over the decades. One teacher toured the world in 1911 with the Sheffield Choir, while another was the brother-in-law of the inspiration for Elgar’s Nimrod.
Tales of the day-to-day life of the school are recounted along with interesting insights into the way we lived long ago. 72pp with over 60 illustrations, A5 format, £8.50.
A HISTORY OF HONLEY BAND
Covering the highs and lows in the fortunes of Honley’s own band, this book reveals it went from being national Brass Band champions in the 1880s to the present day Silver Band and its quest for the top.
SORRY BUT THIS BOOK IS NOW OUT OF PRINT.
HONLEY BRIDGE AND NEWTOWN
This 40-page history of one of the best known parts of the village with the least well known history includes the council offices, the gas works (and a fatal explosion), the roads and businesses as well as the bridge itself.
40pp + card covers, Illustrations in colour and b&w. £5.00
SORRY BUT THIS BOOK IS NOW OUT OF PRINT
PAGODAS AND POTATO SALAD
This fully illustrated book chronicles the lives and personalities whIch went to make Honley Cricket Club the champions which they are today. Written by well-know cricket historian, Peter Davies, there is plenty to interest the cricket fanatic and layman alike.
32pp + card covers, 47 illustrations, some in colour. £4.00
This book is published to commemorate Honley’s contribution to the Great War through the lives of its villagers. All the names of those killed in action and mentioned on the village war memorial are identified and remembered. Honley’s efforts on the home front are also covered.
SORRY THIS BOOK IS NOW OUT OF PRINT
HOPE BANK HONLEY’S PLEASURE GROUNDS
Almost everyone in Honley has heard of Hope Bank – the playground of several generations of villagers. Sadly, the Pleasure Grounds are no more, but their story lives on.
40pp + card covers, updated with colour and b&w illustrations. £5.00
19TH CENTURY LIFE AT LORD’S MILL
This booklet reveals something of lives of the workers and the mill owners, in Lord’s Mill in the 19th Century. Chapters dealing with accidents, fires and social outings paint a fascinating picture of the life of the mill.
28pp + card covers, illustrations in colour and b&w. £4.00
MARY JAGGER HONLEY’S HISTORIAN
In her lifetime, Mary was a historian, novelist, dog breeder and post mistress. Her story is told in fascinating detail.
36pp + card cover, illustrated £4.00
NON CONFORMIST CHAPELS OF HONLEY
in two volumes
These two books cover the chapel histories Wesleyan, Primitive and Independent from their beginnings to the present day.
MOORBOTTOM, 40pp + card covers, fully illustrated £4.00,
THE METHODISTS 44pp + card covers, 70 illustrations, many in colour, £4.00
SOME ACCOUNT OF ST MARY’S CHURCH HONLEY 1888
The refurbishment of the parish church in 1888 gave Mary Jagger the spur to write an account of the church up to that date. Reprinted from the original notes with some additional historical detail.
40pp + card cover many illustrations £5.00
A WALK AROUND HONLEY
This new walk takes visitors on a fascinating route round the village, highlighting historical aspects as they stroll. Lasting up to two hours depending on the reader’s preference, the walk can also be undertaken from the comfort of your armchair simply by looking at the pictures.
28pp + card covers, fully illustrated in colour. £4.00
WOODROYD HONLEY’S HIDDEN HAMLET
Tucked away on the eastern slopes of the Holme Valley, lies Woodroyd – a hamlet with a depth of history unknown even to locals. This book puts the life of the mines, the mill and the chapel into a sharper focus.
48pp + card covers, 60 illustrations, many in colour. £4.00
The above volume is currently out of print but will be revised, updated and extended in 2021.
ANDREW JENKIN’S PORTRAIT OF HONLEY
Specially commissioned from local artist Andrew Jenkin, this booklet has 45 paintings and sketches of the village of Honley. In addition, each picture has a brief historical note. Ideal as a gift or simply as a keep-sake.
40pp + card covers, illustrations in colour. £5.00
HONLEY THROUGH OLD ADVERTISING
The many businesses which supplied and employed the villagers of Honley mostly forgotten today are recalled through the ephemera and advertising which survives.
40pp + car cover. Many illustrations £5.00
THE BROOKES OF HONLEY
Even in the 21st century, the villagers of Honley have good reason to thank the Brookes. From work place to recreation field, from school to church, the Brooke family had a hand in its provision. In this brief account of the family, we record its leading members and the contribution they made to Honley life.
28pp + card covers, 42 illustrations in colour and b&w. £4.00
FARNLEY TYAS – A HISTORY
Tucked away behind Castle Hill is a small village with a rich history. Over 92 pages, this book recounts almost one thousand years through church, school and many other aspects of the life of this community.
Price £12.50.