COLLIERS AND CLOTHIERS 
The Honley Families of Hall Ing, Woodroyd, Gynn and Grove
Woodroyd, Honley’s Hidden Hamlet is now out of print and in need of an update. Our new book with a revised title will be a worthy replacement, while standing on its own as a piece of local history. New research has revealed much about the major families who made this area a significant industrial location in the 19th and 20th centuries. Several new images will also be employed in this substantial rewrite.
Available from Holme Valley News and Zebra Jewellery in Honley and READ bookshop in Holmfirth, priced £10.00. Copies may also be obtained though the post by contacting Honley Civic Society at honleycivicsociety@outlook.com Postage is an additional £2.50.
RESTORED TO GLORY
The Conacher Organ of St Mary the Virgin Honley
Taking advantage of the temporary closure of St Mary’s Church in Honley, the 110 year-old Conacher organ, built in Huddersfield, is being completely overhauled and restored. We celebrate organs and organists of the past, the builders and the work undertaken to bring this stalward of church services back to full glory.
This publication reveals some of the history of earlier organs and organists as well as the background to Peter Conacher and his company in Huddersfield. The restoration work is also covered in the 20 page booklet. Available from Honley Civic Society, £2.00, postage for one copy £2.00.
FINDING BANKS
Written by Civic Society member Angela Marshall and inspired by the TV programme A House Through Time, this is the story of a Honley house, a family business and a lost community. Banks is that area to the south of the village centre and was the home to Holdroyd’s Joiners and Funeral Directors for almost 200 years. The book has 104 pages and is fully illustrated with over 70 pictures plans and maps black and white and colour.
It is available from Holme Valley News and Zebra Jewelery in Honley and READ bookshop in Holmfirth, priced £10.00. Copies may also be obtained though the post by contacting Honley Civic Society at honleycivicsociety@outlook.com Postage is an additional £2.50
The author has written a brief outline of how Finding Banks came into being and this can be found under the page Civic Society Talks
HIGH DAYS AND HOLIDAYS in Honley
The group’s recent 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.
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.
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, formerly 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.
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
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
MRS 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
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 + card cover. Many illustrations £5.00
FARNLEY TYAS – A HISTORY
Tucked away behind Castle Hill is a small village with a rich history. Over 92 pages, this book has been written by a Honley Civic Society member, Caroline Page and recounts almost one thousand years through church, school and many other aspects of the life of this community.
Price £10.00 new lower price