William Bancroft from 'Old Snap' farm

 

)

Old  Snap Farm  2025

Here is a story about a married couple, William Bancroft & Ann Binns who lived all their lives in and around a farm called “Old Snap” on the outskirts of Keighley, Yorkshire. 

 

William married Ann Binns in 1785 at Haworth Church, even though where they lived was actually in the Keighley Parish area, most marriages around there took place at Haworth, because that was geographically nearer. It is noticed that neither William or Ann were able to write their names as they just left an X as their mark and William's surname is spelt with a "K" which was not unusual in those days where people could not read either.

William & Ann's marriage at Haworth PC 1785

 

William is listed as a weaver in the Craven Muster Rolls of 1803, This was an important historical document produced in 1803, when England declared war against France and the threat of invasion by Napoleon made it necessary to prepare the whole of the active male population of the country between the ages of 17 and 55 for military training, but not military service. The purpose of the lists was to organise reserves of men, not already serving in the military services, who would be required to take on such duties as evacuation of the civilian population, moving food supplies and gathers arms and equipment in the event of an invasion. 

They had at least five children, Ann being their fourth child. Shown near the bottom of this burial records page is the entry for a poor child of 2 years of age, Ann Bancroft, who was the daughter of William and Ann Bancroft and died from Smallpox.

As the following page from the Haworth burial records shows in September/October 1794, smallpox was rampant in the area around this time. The records for this six week period shows 15 out of the 20 burials in this small village were due to smallpox, and nearly all were young children.

 

Haworth Burial Record

William and Ann lived in a small isolated farmhouse know as ‘ Old Snap’ which is still there today on the outskirts of Haworth. Just surviving must have been a daily toil for William and his family, due to the rough moorland that surrounded them, were he scratched out a living as a hand loom weaver.

William seems to have lived his whole life in the area around Old Snap, and died in 1823, and was buried at Haworth Churchyard, as the following parish record shows, written by the hand of Rev’d Patrick Bronte. 

William's burial at Haworth PC

His wife Ann and family seem to have carried on living in the same area, but not at Old Snap, After William's death,  Ann is shown as living nearby at Deanfield as a servant with a farmer called Joseph Heaton…the Heaton family being the large landowners in the area at the time, and the owners of Old Snap farm, which the Bancroft had probably been renting from them. [The ages on the 1841 census are approximate]

1841 census

It seems likely that Ann lived to a good age and died aged 91 years and was buried at Haworth Parish Church as had been her husband William.

Ann's burial at Haworth PC 1/3/1850

 

Bancrofts from Yorkshire Strays 1881

Bancrofts from Yorkshire Strays 1881

 

 I am sure many of our Bancroft researchers, whilst looking for ancestors from Yorkshire have drawn a blank because the people they are looking for have disappeared from the county.

 Here's a list of Bancroft families from the 1881 census, where the head of household originated from Yorkshire but by 1881 was living elsewhere in England [not Scotland or Wales] 

 Have a look and see if yours is there.

 

NAME  ST S/M AGE OCCUPATION    PARENTS     BORN                 LOCATION

LANCASHIRE

STEPHEN H M 64 C.W.TWISTER JOS/ISABELLA OAKWORTH 40 ROBINSON ST,BURNLEY
HANNAH W M 66 WIFE HARDEN
ELIZ ANN D U 24 C/WEAVER HARDEN

EDITH ANN GD 9 SCHOLAR HOLBECKETHEL GD 6 SCHOLAR HOLBECK

MARY H W 71 L/HOUSE KEEPER HALIFAX 62 BONNY ST, LAYTON

RUTH H W 70 SEAMSTRESS WAKEFIELD 12 DAVIES ST,SALFORD

EDWIN H M 56 CLERK HEBDEN BRIDGE 25 WATERLOO ST,OLDHAM
MARY A W M 56 DRESSMAKER HEBDEN BRIDGE
CLARA A D U 24 DRESS ASS ROTHERHAM

JOHN H M 56 FARMER WADSWORTH LOWER PEMMIN,WARDLE
MARY W M 64 F'MERS WIFE CLITHEROE

HENRY H M 55 CORN DEALER HALIFAX 10 MOUNT PLEASANT,TODMORDEN
MARY A W M 55 HALIFAX

WILLIAM H S 13 FUSTIAN CUTTER CLIVIGER, LANCS

WILLIAM H H M 30 CARVER/GILDER SHEFFIELD 18 NEW PARK ST,BLACKBURN
MARY J W M 31 BIRMINGHAM
EDWIN T S 7 SCHOLAR BIRMINGHAM
FREDERICK S 6 SCHOLAR OLDHAM
HARRY S 3 SCHOLAR BLACKBURN

JONAS H M 40 STONE MASON JAMES/HANNAH BINGLEY 162 COLNE RD,BURNLEY
MARY W M 37 BURNLEY
HANNAH D U 17 C/WEAVER BURNLEY
CLARENCE S 15 C/WEAVER BURNLEY
ELIZABETH D 14 C/WEAVER BURNLEY
CLARA D 13 C/WEAVER BURNLEY
ROBERT S 11 C/WEAVER BURNLEY
JAMES S 9 SCHOLAR BURNLEY
ALICE D 8 SCHOLAR BURNLEY
FRANCIS S 6 SCHOLAR BURNLEY
BERTHA D 4 SCHOLAR BURNLEY
HANNETTA D 3 SCHOLAR BURNLEY 

SELINA D 1 ?

JOSEPH H M 37 C/WEAVER JOHN/REBECCA DENHOLME MODEL LODGING
HOUSE,ACCRINGTON
ELIZ A W M 32 C/WEAVER BURNLEY

JAMES H M 46 GAMEKEEPER HALIFAX TOWNLEY,BURNLEY
SUSANNA W M 33 CLIVIGER
WILLIAM S U 20 SAWYER CLIVIGER
MARY ELLEN D 14 C/WEAVER TODMORDEN
EMILEY D 10 SCHOLAR NEW CHURCH
CROPLEY S 8 SCHOLAR HALIFAX
ELIZA D 5 SCHOLAR HALIFAX
MAY D 1 HABERGHAM EVE

TITUS H M 48 FORMER PUBLICAN JOSEPH/RACHEL BINGLEY 22 EDWARD ST,POULTON
BANCROFT W W 39 BINGLEY
HANNAH D 8 BINGLEY
ADA D 3 BINGLEY

THOMAS H M 51 COARD WAINER HALIFAX 46 HACKING TER,TODMORDEN
ELIZABETH W M 43 TODMORDEN
HANNAH J D U 21 C/SPINNER TODMORDEN
MARY E D U 16 C/SPINNER HALIFAX
SARAH E D 12 C/SPINNER TODMORDEN

MARGARET H W 52 HOUSEKEEPER LEEDS 3 IRK ST, OLDHAM
JOHN S U 17 WAREHOUSEMAN LEEDS
WILLIAM S 13 SCHOLAR OLDHAM

JOHN H M 52 C/WEAVER LUDDENDENFOOT WESTS VIEW NEWCHURCH
RD,NEWCHURCH
SUSAN W M 51 C/WEAVER NORLAND
ELIZABETH D U 27 C/WEAVER COTE HILL WARBY
MARY ELLEN D U 23 C/WEAVER NEWCHURCH
SARAH ANN D U 21 C/WEAVER NEWCHURCH

GRACE H W 52 ANNUITANT WARLEY GALE,CALDERBROOK
BETSY D U 16 ROCHDALE
ANNE D 9 SCHOLAR ROCHDALE
FLORANCE D 5 LITTLEBORO

WILLIAM H W 55 COTTON MANUF'ER KEIGHLEY 25 PALADINE SQ,HABERGH EAVES

WILLIAM H M 55 HOTEL KEEPER SHEFFIELD OLD RED LION
HOTEL,BURNLEY
MARIA W M 56 H/K'S WIFE ...HAMPDEN
THOMAS S U 20 DRAUGHTSMAN MANCHESTER

JAMES H M 26 C/CLOTHLOOKER STEPHEN/HANNAH OAKWORTH 139 ABEL ST,BURNLEY
FRANCIS W M 31 

ELLEN D 3 BURNLEY
ANNIE D 1 BURNLEY
GEORGE
ALFRED

H M 26 C/WEAVER COTEHILl,WARLEY 65 NEWCHURCH OLD
RD,NEWCHURCH
ANN MARIE W M 24 TIPTON
FLORANCE B D 3 CLOUGHFOLD

JOHN
CHARLES S 1 CLOUGHFOLD

JOSEPH G H M 27 CORN DEALER S/MAN
poss ILLEGIT STANBURY 54 NAPIER ST,ARDWICK
MARY A W M 28 GRASSINGTON

DERBYSHIRE

JOE H M 30 SHOE MAKER LOXLEY GREEN LANE,DRONFIELD
JANE W M 27 DEINHEAD
HARRY S 5 SCHOLAR ROYDE
WALTER S 4 HASLAND
SARAH D 1 DRONFIELD

INGHAM L W 43 RAILWAY CLERK HALIFAX 44 BAINBRIGGE ST, DERBY
WERBURGH
WILLIAM L 11 SCHOLAR DERBY
AUGUSTUS L 5 SCHOLAR DERBY STAFFORD

HUDSON H M 26 COLLIER YORK 49 BROOK ST, BURNSLEM
SARAH A W M 29 BURNSLEM
SAMUEL S 5 SCHOLAR BURNSLEM
ABRAHAM S 3 BURNSLEM

ABRAHAM H M 22 COLLIER YORK 13 CLARANCE ST,BURNSLEM
MARIA W M 20 CREWE
WILLIAM T S 4M BURNSLEM

DURHAM

ARTHUR B 7 SCHOLAR BRADFORD 18 WILLIAM ST,DARLINGTON

WILLIAM H M 55 FOREMAN/QUARRY KILDWICK TROW ROCKS,HARTON
ANNE W M 50 SHIELDS

GLOUCESTER 

JAMES H M 40 COACHMAN HALIFAX HENLEY GROVE LODGE,WESTBURY
MARY W M 40 C/MANS WIFE HALIFAX

 
MIDDLESEX

 
JAMES H M 52 CAB OWNER YORK 43 CHEYNE WALK,CHELSEA
MARY ANN W M 49 C/OWNERS WIFE NORTHAMPTON
JENNY D U 17 ACTRESS CHELSEA
ANNIE H D 12 SCHOLAR CHELSEA
MARY M D 9 SCHOLAR CHELSEA

 

 

 

The final service at Scar Top Chapel

 

Scar Top Chapel - 2024

 A local Chapel long associated with many generations of Bancroft families has recently closed its door for the last time for worship. Scar Top Chapel, near Oakworth, has held its last-ever service. 

 Two hundred people, from as far away as Scarborough, attended. Congregation members included Stanbury Village School pupils. 

The chapel was originally a single-storey building, constructed by farmers and farm labourers for the education of children. It was known as Scar Top Sunday School. A top storey and balcony was added in 1868. 

It was realised over a century later, in 1971, that Scar Top had never been registered as a chapel, but rather than come under the administration of the Methodist circuit, the church retained its independence. 

The original Sunday School Building at Scartop was the first chapel erected in the neighbourhood. 

It was built in 1818 by the local inhabitants, everybody taking part in the work. Farmers led the stone, the outdoor workers got the stone, masons did the building, joiners did their part, and it was erected at little cost as a ‘labour of love’.

 There is no known description of the original building at Scartop, but we know that a  piece of land, measuring 120 square yards, was purchased 4 May 1818 from a Mr Wright, yeoman, of West House, Oldfield, for six pounds, on a 9,000 years lease, with a peppercorn rent. The land was on a steep hillside, with the Haworth-Colne Turnpike road to the north 

The current Scartop Chapel, which is situated alongside Ponden Reservoir, came about when the Trustees agreed to replace the original building with a much larger two storey chapel, including a balcony, in 1868. The laying of the corner stone on February 9th 1869 was celebrated with an open air ceremony which was marred by extremely wet weather and more than 200 people retired to the nearby Ponden Mill for tea. The new school was opened in September 1869 pic new build. We are fortunate to have a photograph of the new building taken soon after its completion. 

Chapel & Ponden Reservoir under constuction

 

The area was extensively photographed during the early phase of the construction of Ponden Reservoir. The fabric of the chapel and adjacent cottages have remained largely unchanged over the past 140 years, which is testimony to the skill of the builders and their choice of good workmen and materials. 

The final service was led by minister Wendy Duckworth. She says: "The congregation, for the very last time, sang carols and hymns lustily – a sound that will never again ring out over those hilltops. "It was a sad day for many, the end of an era. "The final hymn was To God be the Glory, which had become the Scar Top anthem and was sung throughout the years – mostly at the end of services." 

 

As  the lights went out for the last time

The full story about the chapel and the Bancroft connection can be read by clicking HERE.]

Fred Bancroft and the Denholme Brass Band

 

I was recently sent the above shown plaque showing  “Presentation to F Bancroft by the Denholme Brass Band in appreciation of his 45 years services  January 30^th 1928” and after some research I think this was a Fred Bancroft born circa 1866, the son of Thomas and Mary, who although born in Ovenden near Halifax spent all his adult live as a weaver in Denholme.

Fred, like most of the village and his parents probably worked in Foster's Mill as a weaver which was also his father's occupation.

He married Mary Lodge at St Paul's, Denholme on 17^th December 1898 and both were described as 'weavers' so its quite probable that they met whilst both working at Foster's Mill.

Fred &  Mary's marriage

The 1901 census shows them both living at a house on New St without children. Both were still listed as weavers and interestingly Mary is shown as coming from Westminster area of London.

1911 census

Fred died on 21/12/1948 and was buried at the nearby Denholme Clough graveyard.

Now a bit about the Denholme Brass Band, which largely revolved around Foster's Mill where most of them probably worked.

With the reduction of working hours in the mid to late 1800’s people had more leisure time. Methodist and Baptist Chapels encouraged men to join the local chapel band and from there local village and town brass band emerged. Within our area there were 5 brass bands, Denholme being one of them.

'The first record found of Denholme Brass Band is 1864 when they played at a Grand Gala which was held in a field belonging to Messrs. Foster adjoining White-Shaw, Denholme. The proceeds of this Gala amounted to £5.9s.2d and were applied for the benefit of the causeway then being constructed through Denholme.  In July 1867 the Band performed at the ‘Band of Hope Gala’ in Peel Park. On the 15th May 1873 the Denholme and Halifax, and Thornton and Keighley Railways Bill was passed in the House of Commons. This information was received by telegraph by Messrs W & H Foster’s works a little before stopping of work for the day. The clock bells in the tower of the new warehouse were kept ringing for an hour, and later in the evening the Denholme Brass Band paraded the streets.  The band played at the laying of the foundation stone for the Mechanics Institute in 1880.

Denholme Brass Band was actively involved in local competitions between 1891 and 1932. They entered 25, the highest ranking they achieved was 2nd place, at the Haworth concert in August 1898 playing ‘Fairest of the Fair’, and again at Haworth in August 1899 playing ‘Rose Queen’. In 1911 the band travelled to the Crystal Palace to play in a preliminary cup competition. They came 3rd in the competition playing ‘Harvest Home’. During this period the band had numerous conductors: Mr Holmes 1891, Mr William Heap 1894-95 and 1911-1912, Mr Tom Dean1889-1903 and Mr Green 1929-1931.

The band had always wanted a dedicated band room for rehearsal and the following article appeared in the Halifax Courier on the 19th October 1889.

'Opening of a New Band Room. —The opening ceremony in connection with the new band room which has been built in Pit Lane for the of the Denholme Subscription Brass Band took place last Saturday afternoon. Previous to the opening, the band played through the village to the new building. The Rev. A. Brown, vicar of St. Paul’ s, Denholme, presided, and in doing so, took the opportunity to give few statistics as to the cost of the building, etc., which was about £124. Towards this sum about £100.00 has been raised, £55.00 has been raised by public subscription, £46 by the members of the band, which they have subscribed, the remainder being raised by entertainments, etc. In addition to the sum contributed by the band, the cost had considerably reduced by hard work, which the members had wrought digging, painting, and other assistance. In calling up Mr. Eli Foster, of Waterloo House, to present the key to Mr. Jonathan Knowles, junior, of Bingley, who went through the formal opening, the chairman congratulated  the members of the band in securing the presence Mr. Foster representative of the employers of labour in the neighbourhood. In presenting the key (which is a silver one, of artistic design;) Mr. Foster said that it was a very pleasant duty which devolved upon him. He considered they had acted wisely in asking Mr. Knowles to open their new band room, being the son of native of Denholme, who always took interest in the Denholme Brass Band. He was glad hear of the success which had attended the efforts of the band in building a room which they could call their own.'

The band ceased to be active in 1932.

 

Band  - circa 1900

Timothy Banc[k]roft's house was a place of 'Religious Worship'

1701 Wakefield Quarter Sessions

 I came across this entry in the Wakefield County Court Quarter Sessions records stating that on 17/7/1701 a Timothy Bankroft [spelt with a 'K' as was common in these times] of Warley near Halifax, which stated that his home was recorded as a place of 'Religious Worship'. This statement got me thinking about why such a situation would be required. 

There have always been times in history when various religious denominations, particularly of the none-conformist faiths, were persecuted and therefore had to meet secretly as a groups in an individuals private homes or as I think in this case where there was not a local Church or Chapel where they could gather to worship. This situation was not uncommon in the early days of Wesleyan and Baptist faiths, so what do we know about Timothy from Warley? 

 The baptist movement emerged at the beginning of the 17th century, but its members suffered persecution until the Act of Tolerance in 1689 granted freedom of religion to all faiths (apart from Roman Catholicism, which had to wait another hundred years). 

 Not much is known about Timothy other than the facts that he looks to have been baptised in December 1654 at St John's, Halifax.

Timothy's baptism record - Halifax

 

 He married Sara Scofield at St John's Halifax, At the Time he was living in Warley and Grace was living at Sowerby.

Timothy's marriage

 

 [Sorry, all the copies of the records are difficult to decipher!] 

Sadly we may never know why Timothy set his home up as a place of 'Religious Worship'

Illegitimacy..the scourge of the working class!

 

 

St  John's baptism 9/4/1822

Whilst going through some old parish records for St Thomas Church, Heptonstall, Yorkshire I came across an unusual baptism entry for an illegitimate child called Henry Bancroft who was baptised on 9^th April 1822. 

The very unusual entry, and something I have not come across before, lists the “reputed” father as a John Thomas Tebbelroyd or Hebblroyd [difficult to decipher from the hand writing.] who was described as a Wadsworth weaver.

Elizabeth Bancroft, the child's mother must have been pretty sure of her facts, or was put under pressure from the authorities to actually put this on the records, bearing in mind the laws surrounding illegitimacy in those times made it difficult for the alleged father to escape the child and mother maintenance costs.

Checking further, I found no evidence of the parents marrying at a later date.

Illegitimacy has always been around in society albeit sometimes hidden, even within families. I have come across many instances where an unmarried girl, living at home with her parents, has a child which has been listed on census records as her brother or sister, and even registered in that manner in some case. The figure below shows the average illegitimacy ratio for some 98 English parishes, and after 1840 from published official statistics. It is evident that illegitimate births had been on the rise since the middle of the 17th century.

 Before 1540 data is difficult to obtain, and data for the period 1835-1840 is also inaccurate as this was the transitional period from parish registers to civil registration in England. It is possible that in the early 19th century up to 30% of all births were not recorded in parish registers and in some places, especially in larger parishes, non-registration may have been even higher at around some 70%. Indeed my G/G/Grandfather, Timothy Bancroft, was born in 1840, but never  officially registered, even though it was a legal requirement by this time.It seems likely that many of these unregistered births were illegitimate, so the above figures should be treated as an underestimate.

The Bastardy Examination Board
  "Bastardy Examinations", to determine the name of the father, must have been a very traumatic experience for any young woman, as the fear of ending up in the local workhouse was always the ultimate threat from the authorities for any unmarried mother and child . The examination would take place before two Justices who inquired into the circumstances under which the woman about to give birth to an illegitimate child had fallen pregnant. Legally a woman who knew herself to be likely to bear an illegitimate child was obliged to present herself for examination, but in practice this only occasionally happened, and examinations occurred more often after the birth. Bastardy Examinations were particularly keen to discover the identity of the father, in order to force him to provide a bond, known as a "Bastardy Bond",  to indemnify the parish against the costs of maintaining the child. Evidence of paternity claims had to be "corroborated in some material particular"... something that was often impossible to achieve to the disadvantage of the poor woman being brought before the examining committee.

Prior to the 19th century, the Poor Laws stipulated that the putative father was responsible for the maintenance of his illegitimate child. If he failed to support the child, the mother could have him arrested on a justice's warrant and put into a workhouse, or even prison until she agreed to name the child's father. Local authorities issued public funds to maintain the mother and her child until the father could do so. Those public funds were to be reimbursed by the putative father, though this rarely happened because many fled and disappeared without trace. In an attempt to stem the rising costs of poor relief, the local authorities quiet often attempted to reduce their liability for illegitimate children by forcing the fathers to marry the women.


The cost of child-support expenditure could potentially consume a significant proportion of a parish's budget. In Sowerby Bridge, a large township in  nearby Halifax, West Yorkshire, between 25 and 38 per cent of annual expenditure on the poor was dispensed to unmarried mothers between 1818 and 1828. If the parish could enforce and collect maintenance payments, this could moderate the parish's costs of child support. Under the terms of affiliation orders, unmarried mothers in that area typically received between 1s 6d and 2s 6d per week in the early-nineteenth century. It is difficult to provide a contemporary equivalence of value, although it is worth noting that in the late-eighteenth century, a typical male agricultural labourer might have been earning around 10s a week. Unmarried mothers would thus be receiving as much as a quarter of a male labourer's wage. 

 In the 1833 Poor Law Report, the Commission Report on Bastardy, appointed the previous year to investigate the situation, revealed that the Poor Laws encouraged "licentiousness between unmarried couples". More relief was being issued to maintain illegitimate children than to support legitimate children. Not only were the mother and child given relief, but costs were rising because mothers were shipped back to their original parishes to avoid long term responsibility for their illegitimate children. Young men, accused solely on the word of the mother and unable to pay the surety, were, innocent or guilty, forced into early and unsuitable marriages which the commission felt were detrimental to the country. 

 

Bastardy Examination Board

Multiple Bancroft Family Baptisms

 

3 Baptisms on same day

Whilst researching Bancroft family lines I have come across several families where, for one reason or another, the parents had several of their children baptised at the same time, which seems a strange arrangement, particularly as infant mortality rates were sometimes quite high in times gone bye. 

Their three children were Betty 16 yrs, Thomas 15 yrs and  Sarah 13 yrs of age at the time.

There were many Bancroft families, living with large families in cramped poor conditions, with poor diets and where diseases such as smallpox were prevalent, who made it a practice to have children baptised as early as possible, and yet there were some parents such as Thomas and Hannah Bancroft from Old Town,Wadsworth near Halifax Yorkshire who chose to have their three children all baptised at the same time at Heptonstall Church when their eldest child was 16 years of age….I wonder what the reason for this was?....here are some possibilities.

1-The most obvious one was that they were not interested in religion, or just could not be bothered with their local church/chapel.

2-There was sometimes a charge by the local clergy for a baptism, and as money was tight and children were coming at a rapid rate they just could not afford it.

3- Some families seems to have worked on the basis that if one child was approaching marriageable age, they ought really to be 'done' so they did the others at the same time.

4- The family had a disagreement with the local clergy, and it’s only when a new clergyman was appointed that he would decide to round up all the unbaptised families and have a mass baptism day. [This may well have been the case with Thomas and Hannah as it is clear from the church records that several other family had a family group baptism of their children around this time.

5- There may have been an absence of a clergyman in the area for some time.

6- The parents may have been a bit naughty and had a child less than 9 months after marriage, so they decided to wait until the arrival of the second child, hoping to mask the fact that the first child was conceived before their wedding date.

Unfortunately we will probably never know the true reason why the parents decided to have all their children baptised on the same day.

 

St Thomas's Heptonstall

Soap production for the Woollen Industry.

Soap production 18th century

 Many of our Bancroft ancestors in the 18th and 19th centuries were involved in the woollen industry, as wool sorters,wool combers, spinners and just general textile workers, and were working with raw wool in its natural state straight off the sheep's back before being processed.

 The first job when dealing with raw wool was to wash it thoroughly to get rid of dirt, lanolin etc. and there was quiet a big industry locally in the production of large quantities of soap for this purpose. One such business was started by a William Sugden when he bought Cold Spring House near Cullingworth, Yorkshire, in 1874. The property was described as a modern, stone-built mansion house with farm buildings and about 24 acres of land. It also had the benefit of “the well known cold spring”, which arose on the property and provided an abundant supply of pure, soft water suitable for trade purposes. 

By 1878 he had put his plan into action and built a soap mill with the capacity to produce 100 tons per month. The soap was to be used primarily for scouring (washing) raw fleeces to prepare them to be combed and spun into yarn. To produce soap, olive oil – also known as Gallipoli oil – was imported in huge quantities from Italy and the Middle East and combined with an alkali. The presence of a chimney at the mill suggests that Sugden was using what was known as the hot saponification process. This entailed boiling a mixture of oil and alkali solution in large kettles, usually holding one imperial ton each. This method reduced the manufacturing time to one day and when the soap set it was then packed into barrels ready to be transported to customers by train from Cullingworth Station. Soap had always been essential for washing wool, however, before chemical alkalis were developed in the 19th century and vegetable oils were imported, it had been made using potash and animal fats. Potash was produced by burning green bracken in a kiln and literally collecting the ash in pots. The bracken had to be gathered in large quantities and local names such as Bracken Bank, Keighley, Bracken Hill, Silsden, and Bracken Ghyll, Skipton, suggest areas where it was plentiful and probably gathered during the pre-industrial era.

 Restrictions on soap making and a tax introduced in 1712 affected the growth of the industry. However, when these were abolished in 1853, soap makers such as William Sugden saw an opportunity and set up in business. The enterprise at Cold Spring Mill was not the only soap business in the area. 

 

Soap advert

Only a mile or two away at Cross Roads there was Samuel Thompson who advertised his products from the rather grandly named Cross Roads Soap Works. However, he only employed one man and his premises were in an outbuilding at Green Head Farm. The farm was tenanted by Thomas Mitchell, who was his father-in-law and with whom he and his wife lived. It is most likely that he was making soap by the cold saponification process. In this method the cold oils and alkali were mixed into a paste which was then put into trays and left to set over a period of a week, or more. Once set it could then be cut up into blocks ready for sale. His soap was very likely used for personal washing, both in households and on industrial premises.

 By 1911 Samuel Thompson had ceased business and William Sugden closed his mill when the demand for soap fell during the Great War. 

 

Cold Spring House - 2024

 

[I am grateful to the Keighley News, who provided some of this information]

Bancroft woolcomber's wages – late 19th Century

Isaac Holden 1809-1897

 

 A recently read a book called “ Holden's Ghosts” which tells the story of the 19th century wool magnate Sir Isaac Holden, and gives interesting information about his rise from humble beginnings in Scotland, to being a multi-millionaire in the wool combing industry and describes the way he treated his workers in his mills both in England and France.

 Many of our Bancroft ancestors worked in the Yorkshire Textile Mills in Yorkshire in the 19th century after the demise of the cottage industries and although it was a way of making a living, times were hard from wool combing or working with the latest textile machines in the mills. Holden became an enormously wealthy mill owner both in France and later in Bradford, and was a well known local M.P., inventor of textile machinery, philanthropist, particularly to the Wesleyan society but was always reticent with regards to his views of reform for his mill workers. He was radical in matters of electoral and educational reform, but reticent when it came to worker's rights and factory reform. Together with other mill owners in the 1860's he opposed the 'Nine Hour Bill' introduced in Parliament which cautiously proposed to reduce working hours in the textile industry for women and children from 60 to 54 hours per week. They tried to explain, that as manufacturers, they did not consider current hours were excessive but did concede one hour on Saturdays to make the working week 59 instead of 60. 

Woolcombers in his factories typically worked a 60-hour week, often in conditions of up to 120 degrees Fahrenheit of heat in the combing rooms. The wages for this work in his Alston Mill in Bradford were 16/- [[£0.80p] a week and women received 9/- [£0.45].

Women would often work to within one week of childbirth and return again within two weeks. Many of the male night workers, often called 'Holden's Ghosts' by the locals were employed on a casual basis and had to attend each night even if there was no work when they got there. One man described this practice as 'white slavery 'because of the casual employment and low pay. 

 

Alston Mill, Bradford

 As late as the 1890's Holden was adhering to his theory and was quoted: “ It would be our ruin, at least until the Germans and French, our greatest competitors, reduce their hours....An hours work a day may give the manufacturer his profit. If that is given up, it would mean the capitalist's profit is gone, and with it the labourer's wage is gone too” 

 Working conditions for women in Holden's French mills were even poorer, as a French journalist describes:

"There are the same beautiful machines the I have seen in operation at the Alston Works in Bradford, but the workers were altogether different. The machines were almost entirely minded by girls, the majority of whom were shoeless and stockingless, besides being scantily clad in other respects. There was nothing in the least suggestive of immodesty about this, however, for the girls certainly behaved very decorously....Combing sheds were rather high in temperature, and the French girls adopted every available means of keeping cool. They came to work as neat as can be....but as soon as they got to the side of their machines they divert themselves of their shoes and stockings and anything cumbersome in the way of upper garments."

Holden's woolcombing machine

 

By 1875 one of Holden's factories at Croix in France employed 1785 people and his own accounts show his personal net income that year from that factory was £91,982 [equivalent to around £7 million today.....from one factory!] and despite living in a grand style at Oakworth, Yorkshire in his mansion, he continued to promote to the local press that he was living an entirely simple life! 

 Isaac Holden died 1n 1897, age 90 years, and was buried at Undercliffe Cemetery in Bradford 

Holden Monument, Undercliffe Cemetery

 

Anyone interested in reading the book can buy it on Amazon.

Slack Lane Chapel and the Bancroft records

 

1st Slack Chapel - 2024

 I recently came across a book about the Slack Lane Chapel, Oakworth, nr. Keighley produced for it's 180th Anniversary Celebration with details of it's history and formation for as far back as 1819. 

There are also details of about 13 Bancrofts buried there and at least one wedding, but more about this later. 

The chapel's originates go back to about 1819 when the Pastor of the Baptist Chapel in Keighley had a disagreement with some of his congregation and they began to meet in a room of a house in nearby Oakworth for the regular services. This group of local started to try and raise funds for a local baptist chapel and by 1819 had raised £3.-3s-0p to buy a plot of land, and building work commenced. Originally known as “Shaw's Chapel, after Joseph Shaw, who the land was bought from, to later become known as “Slack Chapel”

 No ones knows how the name came about, but the story is told that a gentleman passing asked a boy the name of the place. The boy replied “Slack Chapel”....The man replied “Nay , never my lad, folk cannot be very slack , who come to a place so isolated” [ It never was isolated as there were many small villages within easy reach for worshippers.] An alternative theory is that the word 'Slack' is a local word for swamp, as the area was always very boggy before it was drained.

 In 1847 further land was acquired across the road for a burial ground and in 1851 land at the rear of the chapel was also acquired to build a minister's house, which was known as Zion Cottage and this remained the minister's residence until further land was found nearer the village for a new Manse to be built on Slaymaker Lane, which at that time was known as Slack Lane, in 1907.

 In it's first 100 years 379 baptisms took place at the chapel and as was the custom, baptisms took place by immersion fully in water, and this had to take place outside in summer or winter just down the hill from the chapel on farm land.

Around 1867 it was decided that a second, larger chapel, should be built and money started to be raised for this, including one contribution of £500 from the local industrialist Sir Isaac Holden, who lived nearby. It however took till 1879 for this new chapel to be built at a final cost of over £3000.

In the late 1930's much work was done on the new chapel, including replacing gas lighting with modern electric one and the seating was undertaken to accommodate up to 650 people. It then remained as a working chapel until it was closed in the late 1980's and sold for conversion into residential use.

 

                                2nd Chapel, now Chapel Fold apartments
 

 

 The original chapel had been used only for social events and also as a Sunday School, but was then reinstated as the main chapel for worship, and finally closed in July 2018 and was recently sold for residential use.

 The graveyard contains twelve Bancroft individual from two family graves over several generations.

 In Loving memory of

George Bancroft

of Hardgate Cottage, Cross Roads,
Who died Nov 24th 1915,
Aged 55 years.
"At Rest."
Also of Maria, his Wife
Who died June 26th 1915,
Aged 56 years.
Also of Hilda,
Their Daughter
Who died March 9th 1936
Aged 36 years.
Also of Emma May,
Their Daughter
Who died Feb 11th 1970,
Aged 78 years.

  I was recently given a large cardboard box of items, which had originally been deposited at a local solicitors, on behalf of an Emma May Bancroft, who died in 1970, an unmarried lady, who was the last surviving member of her particular line...and what an interesting assortment of papers, letter and photographs it turned out to be! Emma May's father George, turns out to be a very interesting and rather “well-to-do" person of some note in the area. He, together with his three brothers, Abel, William and John Thomas, all ran tailoring business's in the area and he was, amongst other things a Grand Master of the local Masonic Lodge as well as a substantial property owner who at the time of his death in 1915 had at least eight houses and some land in and around the local area of Crossroads nr Keighley pic of George & Masons The collection, as well as having the usual collection of photos, letter and personal items also had many rent books recording the weekly rent collected from his various properties both by him and later his daughters. George was born in 1860 at Brow Top nr Haworth, the fourth of seven children of Abraham and Martha Bancroft [nee Sutcliffe] and married Maria Wood at St John's Church, Ingrow, Keighley on 18th June 1895. They went on to have two daughters, Emma May in 1896 and Hilda in 1900, neither of whom were ever married. George died on 24/11/1915 at the relatively young age of 55 years, and his estate with all the properties he owned together with his list of other assets and cash were valued at over £1500. George, his wife and two daughters are all buried here. George's story in full can be read HERE

 

George & Family 1911 census

In Loving Memory of
William Bancroft
of Bradford
Who died December 11th 1895,
Aged 53 years.
Also of Martha, his beloved Wife
Who died March 13th 1908,
Aged 73 years.
Also of James William, son of
Frederick & Melina Bancroft,
Who died December 3rd 1917,
In his 25th year.
Also of Lillian, their Daughter
Who died August 9th 1928,
Aged 30 years.
Also of the above named
Frederick Bancroft,

Who died Jan 31st 1930,
Aged 59 years.

Also of Melina, beloved Wife

of the above Frederick Bancroft,

Who died May 23rd 1944,

 Aged 72 years.

 

The other Bancroft grave is of William Bancroft [1842-1895] and his descendents. William was the son of Abraham and Mary and spent his early years growing up in the Oakworth area, before marrying Martha Wadsworth and then moving to the Bradford area as a Mill Overlooker. Interestingly his father, Abraham, by 1891 was living in the Keighley Workhouse and described as an “Imbecile” as many of the other inmates there were also described, and which today would probably be diagnosed as dementia. Why he ended up in the workhouse is not clear as he had at least 5 children as well as more distant relatives where he could have gone to. Below is a copy of the Workhouse census for 1891 showing Abraham together with other unfortunate individuals with the same medical condition who must have lived in grim conditions there. 

 

1891 census - Keighley Workhouse

William spent most of his adult life in Bradford as initially working as a butcher and later in the skin tanning trade. It is not clear why he ended up being buried at Slack Chapel, some way from his home in Bradford.....maybe he wanted to be nearer his early life and was a baptist?

Frederick & Family 1911 census

 

To finish on a brighter note, records show a Bancroft marriage here with another William Bancroft marrying Hannah Whittaker in 1933 and here is a link to an article I wrote some time ago, click HERE

William & Hannah  1933