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Background Information
W
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
- Wainwright
-
Someone who makes wains or wagons.
See Cartwright
- Wake
- The traditional ritual of keeping vigil over a corpse on the eve of the funeral, or on the eve of any festival.
This is said to have originated when the body was watched overnight to ensure that it was dead, thereby avoiding anyone being buried alive.
- Wale
- Raised ridge or rib lengthwise on the surface of a piece of cloth.
Compare Course
- Walk mill
- Aka Fulling mill
- Walkers' Shears
- Shears or clippers which were used for cropping pieces of cloth after the nap had been raised by a teasel plant or other device. 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
- Waller
- A wall-builder. These were often recruited from specialist gangs of itinerant workers as wall-building increased during the 16th and 17th centuries.
See Enclosures
- Wanty
- A rope or girth which was used to tie a fadge to a packhorse
- Wapentake
- An administrative subdivision of a county in the Danelaw. It is equivalent to the hundred in those areas outside the Danelaw. 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
- Warp
- The fixed threads during weaving which run along the length of a piece. In the industrial production of cloth, the thread is wound onto a cheese for loading on the weaving machinery
- Warp-stretching
- Warping ough
- See Wough
- Warren
- Aka Coniger. A mediæval term for an area reserved for the rearing of rabbits.
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
- Wars & Battles
- The links here give details of some of the wars and battles which – although not directly connected with the Calderdale district – are mentioned in some of the entries here and affected the district
- Wart stone
- A stone with a depression in the upper surface. The depression would be filled with water. The hand – or other extremity – would be dipped into the water as a cure for warts
- Washing
- Wool was washed with a soap made by boiling tallow (made from mutton fat) with potash (made from burned plants and seaweed).
See Bleaching
- Wassail
- To drink a toast to someone's health.
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
- Waste
- In the period following the Norman Invasion, a great many areas rebelled against the Normans, and in 1068, Cospatric, the Earl of Northumberland led an insurrection, but 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.wasteas est hoc est vasta
In 1069, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle says of Yorkshire that
... 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.In some cases, it could mean that the land was not suitable for agricultural use
- Watch & ward
- A mediæval system whereby the men of the community – the watchmen – on the orders of the constable, took it in turns to mount a night-guard against thieves and robbers
- Watch & Ward Act [1812]
- Act of Parliament passed in response to the Luddites' attack on mills, such as those at Foster's mill at Horbury, Wakefield and William Cartwright's mill at Rawfolds.
This was ...
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 closet
- A privy or lavatory in which the waste was removed by flushing with water. These replaced earth closets and the Goux system as Corporation sewerage facilities were introduced at the beginning of the 20th century.
- Water-frame
- In 1768, Richard Arkwright invented the water-frame roller for carding and spinning cotton into strong thread. By 1784, the water-frame was used in the production of worsted, and then for flax, but it was unsuitable for the shorter noils woollen fibres where the spinning jenny was preferable.
The improved and faster steam-powered throstle appeared around 1800.
See Frame
- Water power
- When the domestic system of cloth production was overtaken by the machines of the Industrial Revolution in the 18th century – see flying shuttle, spinning jenny, water frame – the new mills were originally water-powered and built on hillsides and along the banks of streams and rivers.
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
- Water shortages
- Water supply was often restricted during the summer months as reservoir levels dropped. In 1929, the supply was cut off between 5 pm and 7 am for 17 weeks. Village pumps were locked. In November 1947, cuts were imposed. Yorkshire Water Authority's hosepipe ban was often imposed in the late 20th century
- Waulking
- See Fulling
- Wayland
- A blacksmith
- Weather-spy
- A popular name for an astrologer
- Weavers' Act [1555]
- The small cloth workers in the domestic system complained that they were being oppressed by the wealthy clothiers. Under the Act, clothiers in country districts were forbidden to keep more than one loom, and woollen weavers were forbidden to keep more than two looms
- Weavers' strike
- The 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, 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 Cooperative Hall in February.
During the strike, a number of suffragettes and other women – including Lavinia 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
- Weaving
- A stage in cloth-making when the yarn was woven into a piece of cloth
- Wedding anniversaries
- Lists of the traditional wedding anniversaries can be found at the links shown below
- Wedding breakfast
- Until the late 19th century, weddings were required by law to be held in the morning. After the ceremony, the celebrations would include the wedding breakfast
- Wedding dress
- Until the late 19th century, it was customary for a woman to marry in her best clothes. During the 19th century, it became fashionable to marry in white. A wedding dress usually had a high neck and long sleeves
- Wednesday
- The day is named after Woden or Odin, the chief Germanic god
- Weeds
- Aka Widow's weeds. Mourning clothes
- Weeping cross
- A wayside cross where penitents might pray
- Weeting
- Aka Lecking
- Weft
- Aka Woof. The thread wound onto the bobbin for weaving which runs across the width of the piece
- Weiring
- The maintenance of walls which protect the land from rivers and streams.
See Murage
- Welch wig
- Aka Welsh cap. A woollen or worsted cap. These were originally made in Montgomery, Wales
- Weld
- Aka dyers' rocket. A plant – reseda luteola – which was used to produce a yellow dye
- Well-dressing
- Local custom in which the head of a well is decorated.
See Spa Laithe
- Welsh
- Used in place names – such as Walshaw and Walsden and the modern word Welsh – the element comes from the Old English word walh or wealh meaning foreigner or stranger and was applied to the original Celtic British peoples, as distinct from the incoming Anglo-Saxon people
- Wergild
- Aka Wergeld. A payment made in Old English times to an injured person or his family by the person who caused the injury. The amount depended on the social rank of the deceased. It originated in European tribal society as a substitute for the vendetta, or blood feud. During the 10th and 11th centuries, it was replaced by punishments imposed by the courts of law
- Westphalian series
- See Coal mining
- Wet nurse
- A woman who was hired to breast-feed other people's children
- Wharfinger
- Someone who owns or manages a wharf.
The final 2 syllables are pronounced as in ginger not as in singer
- Wheel window
- A circular window with the mullions meeting at a central point like the spokes of a wheel.
An alternative name for apple-and-pear window and rose window
- Whinny
- Also whinney and winny, and may be corrupted to windy. The element is used in many local place names – such as Whinney Field, Halifax, Whinney Hall, Shelf, Whinney Hill, Brighouse, Whinney Royd, Northowram, and Winnyfield, Skircoat.
The word may come from the Old Norse whin [gorse] meaning a place where gorse grows.
See Windy
- Whipcord
- A fustian cloth made of worsted or woollen, also cotton and rayon. Very much like gabardine. It is very durable, rugged and stands hard usage and wear, and is used for topcoats, uniforms, sportswear, riding habits
- Whipping
- A traditional method of punishment in which the accused – often beggars and both men and women – were tied to a post and whipped. 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. In Halifax, this began at the Waterhouse Arms in King Street, and ended at the Upper George.
See Cotton measures and Scourge
- Whit walks
- Church & chapel processions. These involved banners showing the name and date of their church or chapel and carried by the men of the community and tableaux displayed on lorries and carts.
They proceeded through the community at Whitsuntide – 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
- White bread
- Bread made from boulted flour
- White Sewing Machine
- American sewing machine company founded by Thomas White in Cleveland, Ohio in 1876. Their first models were introduced in the late 1870s. It was the second the largest and best-known of the US sewing machine companies, after Singer. Their Family Rotary model – FR – was manufactured from the late 1890s until the Second World War. The company took over other sewing machine companies to become White Consolidated Industries. They ceased production in the United States by the early 1970s, and moved to Japan.
See Mr Beal and Whitehall, Halifax
- Whites
- A disease
- Whitesmith
- A tinsmith, or a worker or dealer in tinned or white iron.
See Brownsmith
- Whitesmiths
- A closed benevolent society
- Whitsun Ale
- A church ale held at Whitsuntide
- Whole cloth
- Aka Broad cloth. A piece of cloth measuring 24 yards by 1¾ yards
See Ullnager, Narrow cloth
- Whooping cough
- Aka Chin cough, Pertussis. An infectious disease – common in children. The symptoms include a convulsive cough followed by a crowing intake of breath – hence the name. This was common in the 19th century
- Widow's weeds
- See Weeds
- Wildbore
- A strong, closely woven, unglazed tammy, similar to the bunting material which is used for signal flags. Little Joans were a type of wildbore.
Records for Akroyd's mill show that they produced the fabric in 1803
- Will
- A document which contains the final wishes and testament of a deceased person, and indicate how the property is to be dispersed amongst the issue, friends and relatives of the deceased.
In addition to houses, land and money, the will contained instructions for bequests of clothing, furniture, household goods, and animals.
It was common for a man to leave a horse or a cow to the local vicar, as a burial fee.
Until 1858, the church had responsibility for proving wills. In 1858, the state took over this responsibility.
All wills proved since 1858 are held at the Public Record Office in London, the County Records Office, and possibly the local Diocesan Registry. Wills before 1858, may be held anywhere
- Will o' the wisp
- Aka Ignis fatuus. A natural phenomenon seen at night on marshy ground. The gases generated by the decomposition of organic matter may spontaneously ignite to produce random flashes of light across the bog. They were believed to disorient travellers and lure them to a boggy grave
- Willeying
- Aka Willowing, Willying. A stage in cloth-making when the dried wool from the bales was beaten to remove dust, to disentangle the material, to open matted locks, and to blend the staples into a consistent material. When mechanised, in the late 18th century, this was done by revolving spiked cylinders on a willeying machine.
This technique also allowed rags and scrap cloth to be recycled.
The worker who did this was a willeyer
- Willow
- A machine for separating the filaments of the raw wool
- Willowing
- Willying
- Wilton
- A type of carpet in which the pattern is woven into the carpet in loops of cut or uncut pile, rather than being inserted in a backing – compare Axminster. This produces a velvet-like quality. The method was used at Wilton, Wiltshire, from the 16th century until 1995, when the Wilton Royal Carpet Factory closed. In the 18th and 19th century, Wilton was roughly twice the cost of Brussels carpet, and it became common to have a Wilton carpet in the best room, and to use Brussels carpet in less-important rooms
- Winding
- A stage during the spinning stage of cloth-making in which yarn is transferred from one spool, bobbin or cheese to another.
The work was done by a winder
- Winding hole
- Aka Winning hole. An area of a canal where a boat can be wound, that is, turned around.
The word is pronounced as in the wind (of weather) and not as in to wind (of wool)
- Winding sheet
- A shroud
- Window Tax
- In 1696, William III imposed a tax on houses with more than a specific number of glass windows. Returns recording details of those who paid the tax can be found at the County Records Office.
The tax influenced domestic architecture for many years. Many houses had some of their windows bricked up to avoid paying the tax, and others were built with fewer or no windows, and, in 1746, excise duty was imposed on glass
- Windrow
- Double rows of hay. On a windy or wet day, the windrows are broken up into cocks with the rake. In the Upper Calder Valley they are called hoblins
- Windy
- Used in place names, the word may indicate the obvious exposed, windy nature of the place, or it may be derived from the element whinny or whinney or winny
- Wine
- Although the local climate did not support the cultivation of grapes and the production of wine, Domesday Book records that there were 38 vineyards in England
- Winnack
- A leather bottle.
Various spellings of the word may be encountered: whinnack, whinacke
- Winning hole
- Aka Winding hole
- Wire-making
- Wire making began in the Calder valley in the late 18th century to produce wire for the cards which were used in the textile industry for yarn preparation
- Witch
- Another name for a dobby.
See Drum witch
- Witch ball
- A coloured glass ball which was used to ward off witches, scaring them by their own reflection
- Witch bottle
- A bottle – containing a man's/woman's urine – often buried beneath the threshold or hidden within the house in an attempt to deflect any evil spirits or curse which might be directed at the man/woman. Sometimes, bent nails may also be placed in the bottle in the expectation that these would cause pain to the person who placed the curse
- Witch ladder
- A string of 40 beads or a cord of 40 knots which witches use for magic. A ladder would be made of a number of feathers, each a different colour, and a cord of three colours – red, white and black – braided together.
A ladder could be used as a general charm for protection and good luck, and for a specific purpose, such as acquiring knowledge, health or prosperity. A ladder could be used to cast a spell over a person, in which case the witch hid the ladder so that the victim could not find it, as the only remedy was to find the rope and untie the knots