Rawthorpe Lane and the lost hamlet of Lees head, Dalton

6″ OS map CCXLVII.16 published 1908 Courtesy of the National Library of Scotland

Before 1915 Jagger lane, Kirkheaton; Rawthorpe lane; Dalton Bank road and Nettleton road converged at the crossroads named Four lane ends, Dalton. Rawthorpe lane continued up the hillside to Dalton Hall [Nether Hall and its still existing barn] then towards Moldgreen and Huddersfield by the still existing section of Rawthorpe lane. This was an important major route from Kirkheaton and beyond to Huddersfield dating from the 13th century and possibly earlier.[1]

The section from Four lane ends to Dalton Hall was closed to through traffic about 1915 when construction of the new factory for British Dyes Ltd ( later British dyestuffs corporation) commenced.-shown as a dotted line on the map above. Limited gated access was allowed at the Rawthorpe end for Bankside farm until it was demolished in more recent times. In the 1960’s ICI works police manned the gate at certain times to allow workers access to the site. Later a turnstile was erected.

Rawthorpe Lane in 1994 showing the author. Photographed by the late George Redmonds.

This is one of a number of images which show the lane exactly as it would have been around 1900.

Rawthorpe lane about 1910. K00362 Courtesy Kirklees Image Archive- looking towards Jagger lane and Nab Hill

Lees head Beck-a continuation of Fenay Beck from Waterloo was prone to flooding. The floods of 5th Sept 1931 were the worst in half a century [2]. The Halifax Courier reported that a considerable amount of chemical goods were washed away from the works of the British Dyestuffs corporation.

There were six properties classed as Lees head with a further twelve in the wider Lees valley. Few of the properties can be seen on the 1910 photograph since they are largely hidden by trees. Of particular interest is the Black horse Inn and its bowling green with records from the early 18th century although the property was possibly much older. For further information see the post ” The two Black Horse Inns-Dalton”

John Taylor Jan 2023

Footnotes

[1] Minter, Gordon and Enid; Discovering Old Huddersfield -part three; Barden Print

[2] Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer 6th Sept 1931