See
Cartwright
This is said to have originated when the body was watched overnight
to ensure that it was dead, thereby avoiding anyone being buried
alive.
Compare Course
The shears consisted of 2 opposing iron blades – about 4 ft in
length – and the pair weighed about 50 lbs.
These can be seen in one of the drawings by George Walker.
An image of a pair of shears is inscribed on a
gravestone in the porch at Halifax Parish Church.
The stone has been dated to about 1150 and indicating the early
presence of a woollen industry in the district
The West Riding comprised 10 wapentakes:
Ainsty [until the 15th century, when it became a part of the city of York],
Agbrigg & Morley,
Claro Lower,
Claro Upper,
Ewcross,
Osgoldcross,
Skyrack Lower,
Skyrack Upper,
Staincliffe East,
Staincliffe West,
Staincross,
Strafforth & Tickhill Lower,
and
Strafforth & Tickhill Upper.
Halifax lay within the Wapentake of Agbrigg & Morley.
The word comes from the Old Norse vapntak [voting by a show of weapons].
In Norman times, the Wapentake Court was known as
the Sheriff's tourn
A modern translation of Wapentake would be District
The searchable database gives access to the photos of the individual
headstones & memorials
See
Shannon & Chesapeake, Stansfield
In the industrial production of cloth, the yarn is wound onto a
cheese for loading on the weaving machinery.
The warren was the property of the lord of the manor and was
managed by a warrener.
The word comes from a variant of the Old French garenne
meaning a game park
See
Free warren and
Warner
See
Bleaching
The word is used in expressions such as here we come
a'wassailing.
The word comes from the Old English wes hál,
meaning be well
The forces of William I marched north and punished the rebels,
burning homes and lands and laying the countryside waste.
This was known as the harrying of the north.
Domesday book uses expressions such as:
to describe much of the land as being entirely or
partly waste, possibly a consequence of campaigns against such
insurrections in the period 1068-1070.
In 1069, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle says of Yorkshire that
In some cases, waste might mean that the land was not suitable
for agricultural use
This was ...
See
Clough
The improved and faster steam-powered throstle appeared around 1800.
See
Frame
The first water-powered worsted spinning mill was built around 1784
near Lancaster.
When steam power began to replace water power about 1820, some of
the smaller water-powered mills were abandoned, and others were
converted to steam
See
Cold Edge Dam Company and
Water Dispute between Michael Foxcroft & Henry Farrer
In the 17th century, Charles II issued permits for companies
to pump water from the rivers and deliver it – via wooden pipes – to
domestic customers.
Until the urbanisation of the 19th century, most domestic water in
the towns came from wells, or it was purchased from street traders.
In Halifax, the town was supplied by water from Well Head and
Highroad Well, channelled through wooden pipes and
underground tunnels.
As the town grew the water supply became polluted, causing illness
and disease.
Public health was threatened by water-borne diseases such as
typhoid and cholera.
In 1890, the West Riding County Council required all authorities
adjacent to the Calder to take action to purify the water in the
river.
Wells and spas were the only source of water before municipal
supplies were provided from reservoirs.
Halifax Corporation engaged John Frederick La Trobe Bateman to
solve the problem of bringing water from Widdop to
Halifax.
In 1618, it is recorded that
In the mediæval period, the wells were used for baptisms.
From the middle of the 19th century, hydropathy at spas became
popular.
See
Act for supplying Halifax with Water [1762],
Clifton Water Supply Company and
Cold Edge Dam Company
Conflict during the Napoleonic Wars in which the Anglo-allied
forces under the Duke of Wellington and the Prussian army defeated
the French under Napoleon.
The importance of the Battle is reflected in the number of streets
and other features which are named Waterloo.
Local people who died in the Battle include:
Other local people who took part in the Battle include:
See
Prince of Blucher, Halifax
A strike began in July
1906,
when Hebden Bridge fustian weavers discovered they were paid 2/- a
week less than those in Lancashire, and asked that their wages be
increased to the level of those in Bury and other Lancashire towns
The employers refused, arguing that Hebden Bridge was at a
disadvantage in being distant from the centres of yarn production and
markets for cloth.
The first group of strikers walked out of Ashworth Brothers'
Foster Mill and the dispute soon spread to the mills of
Richard Thomas & Sons,
E. B. Sutcliffe & Company,
and
Roger Shackleton.
Within a few months, 480 men and women had stopped work and 2,000
looms stood idle.
Some went to work for firms not affected by the strike, others
remained unemployed.
The strikers made a weekly collection around the district to augment
the strike pay which they received from the Weavers' Union.
The strikers met at the Tin Mission, Hebden Bridge.
There were many demonstrations, and, in September 1906, mounted
police were brought in to keep the peace.
In February 1907, a crowd of 5,000 attended a meeting at the
Co-operative Hall in February.
During the strike, a number of suffragettes and other
women – including Lavena Saltonstall – were arrested following an
attack on the House of Commons in March 1907.
In October 1908, around 150 weavers were still on strike.
The Weavers' Union told them that their strike pay would be cut.
On 31st December 1908, the strikers received their last strike pay.
The strike was over.
The Eaves Self-Help Manufacturers' Society was established by the
unemployed weavers.
See
Thomas & Sons
See
Beamer,
Bishop Blaise,
Weavers' windows and
Thomas the Webster
See
Murage
See
Spa Laithe
It is also used in surnames such as
Walsh
and
Welsh
In 1849, a number of Wesleyan Methodist ministers were expelled for
insubordination and established the Wesleyan Reformers.
See
Mount Pleasant Wesleyan Reform Chapel, Wainstalls and
Wainstalls Wesleyan Reformers Church
Located in
See
Phyllis Ramsden,
Halifax Central Library,
Journals of Anne Lister and
Nonconformist Records
Lower Coal Measures of this period lie east of the Hebble.
See
Coal mining
An alternative name for apple-and-pear window and rose window
The element is used in many local place names – such as
Whinney Field, Halifax,
Whinney Fold, Halifax,
Whinney Hall, Shelf,
Whinney Hill, Brighouse,
Whinney Hill housing estate,
Whinney Royd Lane, Northowram,
Whinney Royd, Northowram and
Winnyfield, Skircoat.
The word comes from the Old Norse whin [gorse]?
meaning a place where gorse grows.
See
Windy
There are no surviving examples of whipping posts in
Calderdale.
Offenders were also tied to the rear of a cart and whipped as the
vehicle was drawn through the streets.
See
Cotton measures,
Flogging and
Scourge
The participants singing hymns to the accompaniment of brass
bands – to a park or the local place of worship where a tea was
provided.
Hymn-singing, prayers and sports often followed the tea – see
Sunday-school treat.
Children traditionally wore their new clothes.
These continued into the 1960s when entertainment became more
sophisticated.
The walks were made on Whit Monday, but some places held them on
the Friday of Whit Week.
See
William Henry Beal and
Whitehall, Halifax
Whit Monday was a holiday.
In 1971, it was replaced by the Spring Bank Holiday
See
Whit Monday Fields,
Whit walks,
Whitsun Ale and
Whitsuntide buns
An 1884 recipe for the buns – as made by Dobson's of Elland – specified
See
Narrow cloth and
Ullnager
Despite enthusiastic bidding from 1 guinea up to £13, the widow
did not reach the reserve price and the sale was abandoned after she
declined to be bought
These often took place at a local cattle market.
In the transfer, the woman was often delivered in a halter,
and the sale formally announced that the woman was henceforth the
property of the new buyer.
In August 1881, a Brighouse man sold his wife for 2d.
The woman had documents drawn up to prevent him buying her back.
See
Samuel Hey,
Samuel Lumb and
Widow auction
Records for Akroyd's mill show that they produced the fabric
in 1803
Wainwright Ref 1-1464 Wake Ref 1-1032 Wakefield, Capture of Ref 1-417 Wale Ref 1-217 Walk mill Ref 1-W38 Walkers' Shears Ref 1-69 
Wanto Ref 1-1011 Wanty Ref 1-1219 Wapentake Ref 1-316 War Graves Photographic Project Ref 1-739 
War Memorials Ref 1-W37 War of 1812 Ref 1-2369
War Shrine Ref 1-1001 Warp Ref 1-275 Warp-stretching Ref 1-286 
Warping ough Ref 1-W30 Warren Ref 1-2825 Wars & Battles Ref 1-105
Wars of the Roses Ref 1-505
Wart stone Ref 1-W18 Washing Ref 1-232 Wassail Ref 1-W13 Waste Ref 1-1617
wasteas est
hoc est vasta
... the king ... had laid waste all the shire
Most of the castles in Yorkshire – including Richmond and
Pickering – were built at that time to oppress the locals.
Watch & ward Ref 1-W4 Watch & Ward Act [1812] Ref 1-2721
An Act for the more effectual Preservation of the Peace, by enforcing
the Duties of Watching and Warding, until the First Day of March
1814, in Places where Disturbances prevail or are apprehended
It allowed members of the public to enrol as special constables armed
to maintain law and order.
This was generally unpopular
Water Ref 1-2334 Water closet Ref 1-2274 Water-frame Ref 1-81 Water power Ref 1-1571 Water shortages Ref 1-W15 Water supply Ref 1-8380
Water was brought to Halifax in leaden pipes
Waterloo, Battle of Ref 1-452
Waterwheels Ref 1-3890
Waulking Ref 1-185 Wayland Ref 1-W35 Weather-spy Ref 1-W24 Weavers' Act [1555] Ref 1-1989 Weavers' strike Ref 1-715
Weavers' windows Ref 1-2491 Weaving Ref 1-195
Wedding anniversaries Ref 1-W29
Wedding breakfast Ref 1-W10 Wedding dress Ref 1-W17 Wednesday Ref 1-W20 Weeds Ref 1-W16 Weeping cross Ref 1-W9 Weeting Ref 1-249 Weft Ref 1-1041
Weights & Measures Ref 1-708 Weiring Ref 1-1400 Welch wig Ref 1-W11 Weld Ref 1-2459 Well-dressing Ref 1-W5 Welsh Ref 1-973 Wergild Ref 1-W23 Wesleyan Methodists Ref 1-2375
Wesleyan Reformers Ref 1-407 West Yorkshire Archive Service Ref 1-2468
West Yorkshire Regiment Ref 1-1172 Westphalian series Ref 1-2168 Wet nurse Ref 1-W25 WHARFEGEN Ref 1-571
Wheel window Ref 1-204 Whig Ref 1-3043 Whinny Ref 1-591 Whipcord Ref 1-2916 Whipping Ref 1-1624 Whisky Spinning Ref 1-W2 Whit walks Ref 1-2297
White bread Ref 1-1925 White Sewing Machine Ref 1-1768
Whites Ref 1-852 Whitesmiths Ref 1-W22 Whitsun Ale Ref 1-1810 Whitsuntide Ref 1-719
Whitsuntide Buns Ref 1-736
to make 180 10-ounce buns
24 lbs flour
5 lb butter
5 lb lard
8 lb sugar
8 oz salt
20 eggs
13 quarts milk
2 lb yeast
20 lb currants
5 lb peel
Whole cloth Ref 1-2641 Whooping cough Ref 1-873 Widow auction Ref 1-3035
a fine young widow, having worn 3 husbands
Widow's weeds Ref 1-2052 Wife-selling Ref 1-3034 Wildbore Ref 1-W32