Dancing Bears

This is the Bear Pit on Cardigan Road (Headingley, Leeds, UK). Apart from a few boundary walls, this is the only thing to remain from the Leeds Zoological and Botanical Gardens . The site opened in 1840. However, it was never a financial success and was forced to close some thirty years later.

It stands as a reminder that 19th and early 20^th century  ideas about animal welfare are different from those that prevail in modern society. But confinement to a relatively small space was not the worst thing that could happen to a bear in the 19^th century. Often they were acquired by travelling showmen in both Britain and Europe. They were trained to ‘dance’, and exhibited outside inns and taverns in the hope of gaining a few coppers. Even as late as the 22^nd of  April 1914 the Yorkshire Evening Post carried an article headed: ‘The dancing bear in Leeds. Foreign owners given strong hint to clear out’. Though one does have to wonder whether this is an issue of animal welfare or just plain xenophobia, it is true that such animals could represent a danger to the community if the owners lost control.. The same article notes that ‘Many Leeds Readers will recall probably, that some years ago on the occasion of a visit of one of these dancing bears, a small child was scratched by the animal.’

The Leeds Bear Pit is now owned by Leeds Civic Trust who have plans to restore the structure and to make it more accessible to the public.

This is not the only bear pit in Yorkshire. There is another in Sheffield’s Botanical Gardens. Can anyone think of any more?

THE MYSTERY OF THE DUMB  STEEPLE

This mysterious obelisk can be found in the small village of Grange Moor between Huddersfield and Wakefield (West Yorkshire, UK). All that can be said of it for certain is what is recorded on the inscription on its south face.
Rebuilt
By:Richrd:
H:Beau~~
mont
Esq:r
1776

(Richard H. Beaumont was the local landowner)

The use of the word ‘rebuilt’ in the inscription implies that the Dumb Steeple had a predecessor. Sadly, we have no idea what this might have looked like nor why it was thought necessary to rebuild it.

The problem is that nobody can come up with a suitable explanation for what function the Dumb Steeple served. The best guess is that it served as a boundary marker of some sort but nobody seems to be really certain.

Nor is there a credible explanation for the name. Maybe it’s ‘dumb’ because, unlike a church steeple, it has no bells. Therefore it cannot make a noise.

To make matters more confusing there is a second Dumb Steeple at Cooper Bridge just a couple of miles away. Again no satisfactory answer to the problem of its name and function can be found. It might be a boundary marker, a sanctuary stone or just a signpost. It is after all situated near a busy road junction.

And finally there seems to have been a third Dumb Steeple at Sandal Magna on the outskirts of Wakefield. It is mentioned in ‘Legends and Traditions of Huddersfield (Paat V)’ by Philip Ahier but I have seen no other reference to it. If anyone can supply any information, I would be glad to hear it.

I find this object intriguing. Can anyone think of any parallels?

I’ve never known quite what to make of this obelisk at Grange Moor. Can anyone think of anything similar?

THE LOST KINGDOM OF ELMET: AN ILLUSTRATED TALK

Speaker: Dave Weldrake

Date: Thursday 12^th of October

Time: 7.30

Venue:  Church House, Old Main Street, Bingley (West Yorkshire, UK)

Entry : £2.50

The Kingdom of Elmet was one of many small principalities which sprang up after the Roman armies withdrew from Britain. It covered the area which is now South and West Yorkshire. Before its collapse in the early 600s it was a buffer between the two great Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of Mercia and Northumbria. This talk looks at people and places in the past to shed light on an almost forgotten part of regional history.

The talk is one of a series of events organized by Bingley and District Local History Society. For a full list see their website at: http://www.bingleyhistory.co.uk/calendar.html

THE WALTON CROSS

These are images of the Walton Cross near Hartshead (West Yorkshire, UK). Everyone seems to agree that it’s the base of an Anglian High Cross. The style of the carving suggests Scandinavian influence.  That would put the date of its creation around 900 CE.

What people don’t seem to agree on is what the original purpose of the cross would have been. Could it, for example, have been set up here to commemorate a now forgotten battle? Or is it, perhaps, a grave marker? That seems hardly likely. No Anglian graves have been found in the vicinity. Could it be a churchyard cross? That’s unlikely too. The present Hartshead church is a 5–10-minute walk away.

Whatever the reason for its erection, the Walton Cross must have been an impressive sight. Only the base survives now, looking rather worn and sad after over a thousand years of exposure to the elements. It would have been different in its heyday. The full height of the cross could have been twelve or fifteen feet. And it wouldn’t have been the greyish object we see today. The Anglo-Saxons painted their stonework. How else could they distinguish the intricacies of all that scroll work? The missing cross shaft may have had figures of saints with glass insets for their eyes.

Given its site overlooking Calderdale, it must have been visible for miles shining and glittering in the sun. Was it therefore intended as a symbol of power.? The Christians are here and you’d better not forget it…

Medieval Churches of West Yorkshire: Todmorden

At first sight  you might think that the Church of St Mary  (Todmorden, UK) started life as a 19^th century ‘preaching box’ but you’d be wrong. Go around the back and look at the base of the tower. The bottom story probably dates to the late medieval/Tudor period.

The church started life as a chapel of ease for the parish of Rochdale. However, it was remodelled by Anthony Crossley in 1770 which disguised its earlier origins. The chancel was added in 1896.

AN EARLY INTEREST

These photos show the iron working complex at Rockley just off the M1 near Barnsley (West Yorkshire ,UK). Over fifty years ago I worked on a dig here under the supervision of Dave Crossley. I have a vivid memory of an Easter holiday spent nearly up to my knees in cold water while the snow fell all around us. Why this experience should give me a lifelong interest in archaeology, I’ll never know. But it certainly did!

The blast furnace at Rockley was probably built in the early 18^th century to smelt down local iron ore.

The engine house at Rockley was built in 1813, probably housing a Newcomen steam engine. When in use, it would have resembled the restored engine house at Elsecarr Industrial Village. It was used to pump water from the iron workings.