seeking someone with good local knowledge of DENHOLME....

[Katharine75]

Hi. I would love to hear from anyone who has a good knowledge of Denholme and the immediate area.
I have a deed pertaining to some land, and also another document, both of which detail fields (all with different names) which were owned by my ancestor.
I would like to find out where these fields now lay etc.
Thanks, Katharine.

[arthurk]

I can't answer your question, but if you're patient you might find some information when the Bradford tithe maps are put online. This is a joint project between Bradford FHS and West Yorkshire Archives, and you can read more at http://www.bradfordfhs.org.uk/index.php/about/projects

Another thought: sometimes the roads in housing developments take their names from the fields they were built on. Are there any clues like that on a modern map?

Arthur

[dave the tyke]

Hi Katherine,
Try listing the fields that you are interested in, as Arthur says, sometimes roads and other places take their names from fields.
The date of your title deed could also help, as could the places where your ancestor lived, It is a fairly safe bet that he lived near the fields he owned, that is unless he had lots of properties in and around Denholme.
Do you have a will ? That would list property and land owned at the time of death.
If you can give us dates and a name there are many people on this site who may be able to help.

Dave

[Katharine75]

Thanks for the link ArthurK. I did have a look at the Leeds site - any idea what year the tithe maps are?

Dave - as you suggest here are the field names (possibly mistranscribed by me!) dated 1800:

great north leys, cowperly, weary brow, upper birk hill, lower birk hill, far birk hill, ing mean and gardens, Jowett wife field, near delph field, far delph field, lower bottoms, middle bottoms, middle north leys, leys end to lane, far rushy field, near rushy field, mean croft.

This are all adjacent to Denholme House. I can see were the fields birk hill, and cowperly would have been, but if anyone has information on the other fields I would be interested.

Can anyone explain what a mean and a croft were?

Another deed from the 1850s mentions Lower field, which was bounded on the east by the Keighly Halifax road (New Road). This seems to have been land that was sold by my ancestor to another resident, Eli Greenwood Wilson, but does mention three cottages built by my ancestor.  When I looked at Wilson in the 1851 census he is living in Denholme, but after the deed, in the 1861 census he has moved to Well Street. There are only three houses listed in the street. So I am very curious to find out if these could have been located in 'Lower field'.

Thanks, Katharine.

[dave the tyke]

I would hazard a  guess that a 'mean croft' would be a small house or building.
Birk Hill is near Doe Park Reservoir to the East of Denholme and adjacent to Denholme House.
The Rush Fields were perhaps under what is now the reservoir ?
The Brow is NE of Denholme near Ten Yards Lane.
An 'Ing' is a watershed so perhaps we are looking where water from a hill runs down to a beck - Well Heads to Denholme Beck perhaps ?

With the exception of 'The Brow' all the places I have mentioned from a present day map, seem to be fairly close to Denholme House ?

Hope this helps

Dave

[Katharine75]

Since posting this I have studied the modern map satellite map of Denholme, and compared it to a map I have of the fields, and can see where they lie now. So that seems to clear that up. Although one of the fields was Jowett wife field. Can I assume this was a field leased to Jowett's wife???

BUT....still like to hear if anyone can confirm where 'lower field' was. Re-reading the deed, it also mentions it is next to a property in the inheritence of Jonas Spencer. I had a look at the 1851 and 1861 census, but can't work out what his property was.

I still think I am on the right track with the cottages being those in Well Street.

Thanks, Katharine.

[dobfarm]

Try writing to this man- if he doesn't know much himself ? He looks the type of man who will find someone who does

http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/news/local/localbrad/9097020.Owner_of_restored_Denholme_mansion_worried_windfarm_will_slash_its_value/

[Katharine75]

Hmmmm That is an interesting article and comments.

[arthurk]

Thanks for the link ArthurK. I did have a look at the Leeds site - any idea what year the tithe maps are?

According to the Leeds site (Glossary & FAQs - near the bottom of the page) they are mostly from the 1840s.

Arthur