Welcome everyone to this latest edition of The Skircoat Green Directory.

What a month it has been! Even though we are in lockdown, we will continue to bring you the interesting articles, news and businesses our readers have come to expect. Please remember, essential services life care, nhs, electricions, plumbers and Funeral services are still on hand should you need them. And for those businesses that are also on shutdown like restaurants and retail, take a note of who is in the magazine. Some have moved to online deliveries or takeaways. We need to support all our local businesses to ensure they are here on the other side of this virus.

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St Cuthbert Day

20^th March 2020

Dear Minster Friends,

I’m writing this letter to everyone associated with The Minster as your Vicar during this global pandemic which is now affecting all our daily lives and has now resulted in the government restricting movement and the way we order our lives until the Coronavirus is firmly under control.

Following Government advice and instructions from both the National Church of England and our own Diocesan Bishop, I now write to confirm, that with the support of the Church Wardens and other colleagues, we have taken the decision to close the Minster until further notice. This decision is to support the government in trying to limit unnecessary travel and communal gathering, in order to protect the whole community and try to slow down the rate of infection until such time as we are told we can reopen with confidence.

This is a painful restriction on us all. This means we can’t be the gathered church at this time, and that we will need to pray at home as a dispersed community.

This situation leaves The Minster with a number of challenges: Worship, Pastoral, and Financial. These I will take in turn with advice.

The Worship of the whole people of God is one of the main spiritual things we do as Christians that sustains our daily living and existence. I encourage you to pray at home, and we shall be putting some material on the Minster website to support this. I also encourage you to join in worship broadcast on the BBC, both daily worship on Radio 4 and the proposed televised service on BBC One on Sunday mornings. The Church of England website will also provide you with material for praying each day under the heading of Daily Office. Presently, for those of you with smartphones the ‘Time to Pray’ App has now been made available free of charge; see https://www.chpublishing.co.uk/apps/time-to-pray  it is also available on Google Play and the Apple Store. Baptisms will be put on hold. Weddings and Funerals will be subject to Government guidelines at the time.

David, Jane and I intend to meet together for prayer and the Eucharist. Therefore, we are asking you to send through to the Office your prayer requests so that we can include them in our offering to God. This will continue for the duration unless illness or lock down prevents us from doing so.

Pastoral Matters: one of the great strengths of attending Church is the Pastoral Care that each worshipping community provides for one another. Many people living on their own suffer from isolation and loneliness, and families are struggling with work, mortgages to pay, childcare, and now Schools closing indefinitely. The Revd David Carpenter, the Lecturer and Chaplain to the congregation, will head up our new Pastoral Care system, that aims to keep in touch with as many people as we can who are part of the Minster community, whether you class yourself as congregation, choir family, welcomer, bell ringer, Civic Leader across the town and Borough, member of staff, or simply a Friend of the Minster. We shall be dividing people into groups, and key leaders both Clergy and Lay, will be phoning and emailing people, in order to stay in touch, and provide a listening ear and support. As Christians, we take up the mantle of being Christ’s feet, his mouth, his ears, his healing hands. I encourage all of you to care for your neighbours in your street as well as your friends. Please leave messages on the Minster phone (01422 355436) and via email admin@halifaxminster.org.uk and the Office will be open daily Monday-Friday 10am-1pm to pick up messages and respond to requests for prayer and help.

Financial: Over the last twelve years since I’ve been here, we’ve turned around a £50,000 year on year deficit, and for the last three years we made a small surplus. We are now planning to stay closed until the middle of the summer, when we hope some restrictions might be lifted. This means we need to somehow stay financially afloat, paying staff, paying the Parish Share each month so that the Diocese can pay Clergy Stipends, and our monthly bills towards insuring the building and other committed expenditure. We’ve had to cancel lots of events and bookings, and with the Minster closed there will be no visitor donations and revenue from the Minster shop. Many committed members of the Minster community contribute financially monthly through Planned Giving: either by Standing Order, the Envelope Scheme, or by cash donation, and all Gift Aided. For those who already contribute by Standing Order we remain hugely grateful for the knowledge that your money will arrive each month. For those of you who contribute by Envelope or cash donation, I enclose a Standing Order Form that will enable you to continue making that vital financial contribution, but without the need to physically place your Envelope or cash in the plate, whilst the Minster remains sadly closed. We want to reopen as soon as we are allowed and in the knowledge that we remain financially a going concern. If you would like to talk to our Treasurer Peter Naylor about setting up a Standing Order and Gift Aiding your contribution, please either ring the Office or email Peter treasurer@halifaxminster.org.uk. If you want to send a cheque to cover your donation then please send to Mr Peter Naylor, Causey Hall, Causeway, Halifax, HX1 1QL.

I’ve never had to write a letter like this before and it all feels very surreal. Some will liken it to the Great War years, but for a younger generation, we’ve never had to live through a time like this, and for many people, there is an uncertain future. As Christians we place our hope in God through Jesus, who by the power of his Spirit encourages and enables us to Keep Calm and Carry On! Julian of Norwich that great mystic from East Anglia, professed her faith by proclaiming that through faith in God All Shall be well, all shall be well, all manner of things shall be well. And that is my hope and prayer for all of us. Stay safe, Stay in touch.

Keep us, good Lord,

under the shadow of your mercy

in this time of uncertainty and distress.

Sustain and support the anxious and fearful,

and lift up all who are brought low;

that we may rejoice in your comfort

knowing that nothing can separate us from your love

in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

This letter comes with my love and gratitude to everyone associated with The Minster, and that of my wonderful colleagues, David and Jane, Mick and Sheila, Church Wardens.

Hilary

The Revd Canon Hilary Barber

Vicar of Halifax Minster

Important contact details:

Canon Hilary Barber 07905987089 h.barber@halifaxminster.org.uk

The Revd Jane Finn 07709222591 j.finn@halifaxminster.org.uk

The Revd David Carpenter 07460443368 d.carpenter@halifaxminster.org.uk

The Minster Office 01422 355436 admin@halifaxminster.org.uk

Peter Naylor Treasurer 01422 355436 treasurer@halifaxminster.org.uk

I remember as a child in London finding my way to school in fog so thick I had to feel my way along the walls of houses. It was called ‘smog’ – a combination of smoke and fog.  Halifax had the same problem.  It was so bad that in 1837 Anne Lister described Halifax as ‘a large smoke-canopied commercial town’.

In 1870 along came ‘The Smoke Abatement Act’ which prompted John Wainhouse to build a chimney the following year. He owned the dye works in Washer Lane and was concerned about the contribution his factory was making to the air pollution – not to mention the effect it had on his nearby home (now The Wainhouse Tavern).  He decided to build a chimney that would carry the smoke up and away from the valley and his home.

Before it was completed, Wainhouse sold his factory , making the chimney redundant. So he decided to change its purpose and annoy his neighbour, Sir Henry Edwards at the same time.

Sir Henry kept annoying him with various threats of summonses, so Wainhouse decide to get his revenge.  Sir Henry cherished the privacy he enjoyed at his Pye Nest home and boasted that even when he was strolling round his grounds he could not be seen. Wainhouse decided to invade that privacy which he did by increasing the height of the chimney and turning it into a folly that the public could visit.  He couldn’t know it at the time, but it was to become the tallest folly in the world.

It took over three years to complete and cost of £15,000 (over a million pounds today) being finished in 1875.  Did Wainhouse achieve his objective? Yes indeed! Wainhouse Tower is over 250 feet high and the Victorian public could climb its 403 steps to the top and not only gaze into Sir Henry’s Pye Nest home’s grounds, but could see for miles in all directions. You still can on Bank Holidays, if you’ve got the energy.

Trish Colton’s A-Z of Halifax book launch is on 6^th March at 7pm at the Old Rishworthians Rugby Club, Copley Village.

This month I have chosen to write something about the Walker family of Lightcliffe, as a preliminary to a Talk which I hope to launch at Square Chapel on 11^th March.  Here is the tale of the missing Minster (or Parish Church) window.

It may not be commonly realised that the Walker family of Crow Nest had strong connections with Halifax itself.  They did, and in the late 18^th Century owned a swathe of land along the Hebble valley towards Shay Syke, much of which was later taken over by the railway. They also held other sections of land near Halifax Parish Church.

And, from 1676 to 1809, many of the family were buried in the Parish Church.  Most of their tombstones have vanished, but the many family interments within the edifice were recognised by Evan Charles Sutherland-Walker of Crow Nest in 1864, when he paid for a new stained-glass window to be placed in the church in commemoration of his maternal ancestors.  Although the attractive brass plaque detailing the donation of this item is still in situ, the window above has apparently disappeared.   Why is this?

In 1958 a decision was made by the Parochial Council to rebuild the famous Commonwealth windows on the south side of the chancel, then in a poor state. A decision was also reached to remove two 19^th Century stained-glass windows on the same side, towards the east end of the nave, and replace them with two plain Commonwealth windows on the north side, in order to allow more light into the church.   The stained-glass was removed to the north side, but the plaques remain, and today we have inscriptions below windows to which they are not related.  One of these commemorates the Walker family, and the caption can easily be seen and read today, entirely in Latin.  This highlights the family of Crow Nest as significant in Halifax Parish, mentioning the burial links over 130 years. Also included on the plaque are two attractive representations of the Walker family Arms, not apparent elsewhere in the Minster.  And there is the family axiom; the motto of Ann Walker’s family was Per ardua virtus, usually translated as Courage Through Difficulty.

Can the ‘missing window’ still be seen?  Yes.  As mentioned above, it was moved to the north side of the church in 1958, and is now partly hidden by the side of the organ. The window was ordered by Sutherland Walker in 1864 to the design of London stained-glass artist William Warrington, and features Moses anointing Aaron, as described in Leviticus 8 verse 12.  Other figures support the two main characters, and three Old Testament texts are displayed on a white scroll below.   The quality and style of this window is not regarded as of such high quality as most of the Minster glass.

The first of the Walker family buried was William Walker of Upper Walterclough, Southowram, and of Lower Crow Nest, who died in 1676 aged 84.  The last of the family buried in Halifax’s ancient Parish Church was William Walker of Crow Nest, fourth of the name, who died unmarried in 1809.  He was the uncle of Ann Walker of Anne Lister fame; and on his death, his younger brother John (Ann’s father), inherited Crow Nest.  Until that time, John and family had lived at Cliffe Hill.

  There are other relics of the Walkers in Halifax Minster today.  For example, there are three brass pew ownership plates mounted – with others – on a board under the tower interior.   One of these belonged to William Walker of Crow Nest, and another to his brother John when still at Cliffe Hill.  A third plate bears the name of Ann Walker of Cliffe Hill; perhaps more likely to have been that of Aunt Ann (1757-1847) than of Anne Lister’s partner.  The later Walkers lie buried at Lightcliffe.

David C Glover

There have been comparatively few Conservative MPs for Halifax. Amongst those who did serve in this capacity was Henry Edwards,who lived at Pye Nest, between Halifax and Sowerby Bridge. He was one of Halifax’s great 19th Centurymen, and being an MP was only one aspect of his life.

Henry came from a textile family, mostly operating in the Ryburn Valley,being the third son of Henry Lees Edwards of Pye Nest, whose family originated in Birmingham. The Edwards father was brother to Mary Edwards who married John Walker of Crow Nest,Lightcliffe. This relationship resulted in Mr Edwards senior eventually being appointed a joint trustee for Ann Walker, the partner of Anne Lister.The younger Henry Edwards was born in 1812, and given a private education. His family was wealthy enough for him to go on a Grand Tour of the continent in his late teens, accompanying a young nobleman, the Marquess of Winchester. In Paris, the young man from Pye Nest heard of a familiar lady then staying in the French capital; you may have guessed that her name was Anne Lister.

On 30th November 1830, Anne entered in her diary: “Mr. Henry Edwards, jun., of Pye Nest, called, and stayed about an hour. I hoped to see him some evening; received him very civilly.” Having explored Paris, Henry proceeded through France to Italy and the Mediterranean with his aristocratic companion, returning to England in December 1831. Seven years earlier, Anne Lister makes more than one mention in her diaries of visiting Mrs. Henry Lees Edwards at Pye Nest and of meeting young“Master Henry”-aged eleven-there. On Friday, 10th January 1823, she recorded:“At 11.0, my Aunt and I were off in the gig to Pye Nest. … Sat half-an-hour with Mrs.Edwards and her daughter Delia, and sons, Charles, Henry, and Thomas. A sad, vulgar set. I said nothing, but my aunt exclaimed about it as soon as we were out of the house. I thought she would. The servant came in with his linen jacket & apron on.”

Horrors! Henry really wanted to join the army, however his father insisted that he join the family business instead. By the early 1840 this had been rehoused at the newly-built Canal Mills, near Sowerby Bridge. Henry was an expert horseman, and he did eventually achieve his desire of leading a group of ‘military’ men, the reserves known as the West York Yeomanry Cavalry, of which he was a joint founder. By this means he was to achieve the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel, and he looked a fine figure in uniform. The reason for the raising of the Yeomanry Cavalry was connected with unrest during Chartist and Plug Plot times, in which Henry’s own property at Canal Mills would suffer. He was involved with suppression of the 1848 demonstration in Bradford, where he led his men into action, and many citizens were injured. It was as a belated reward for his upholding of law and order during the 1840s that he was awarded a baronetcy in 1866, by Queen Victoria, on the advice of the Earl of Derby, then Prime Minister.

Halifax was enfranchised as a parliamentary borough in 1832, with two members of Parliament. Most of the early MPs were Liberals. The election of 1847 came at a critical time, when there were two Liberal candidates, and one Radical. This split the vote of the progressives, and allowed Henry Edwards, the Conservative candidate, to top the poll, something the Conservatives never again did in 19th Century Halifax. He was elected, and served till 1852, when the Liberals retook the seat. Later he would serve as an MP for Beverley. He died in 1886 and lies buried in the churchyard at All Saints’, Salterhebble.

Much more might be said about this complex but interesting man. Many will know of his bitter feud with J E Wainhouse, which darkened the later years of his life.

If you’d like to learn more, please come along to my illustrated lecture at Square Chapel in November.

David C Glover

President of the Halifax Antiquarian Society

Chairman of the Friends of Lister Lane Cemetery

Vice-Chairman of the Halifax Civic Trust

One year on from opening her salon in Elland Wharf, Becky has no regrets.

The salon celebrates its first anniversary and she’s proud to have grown the business to having a full-time Assistant and other beauty personnel who offer aesthetics and make-up services. Known for its relaxed atmosphere and focus on beauty wellbeing, the salon even has its own therapy-dog Nel who is adored by the customers.

“I always knew I wanted to be a hairdresser, even when I was sat scribbling away in English at The Crossley Heath School. I used to find myself staring at other people’s hair and imagining what I could create!” After finishing college and freelancing at a number of hair salons Becky felt it was the right time to set up her own business in 2018. Aged only 24 she bravely called upon her hairdressing contacts, friends and family to help create a logo and website and kit out the brand-new salon with all the latest equipment and get her up and running.

“Now we’ve been open 12 months I can’t imagine life without the salon!” Becky added, “I really care about my customers and the salon is a relaxed, friendly and creative space full of hair advice, ideas,free WIFI and never-ending cups of tea plus biscuits! My dog Nel is a customer favourite too. He’s trained to be an official therapy dog and it amazes me how he relaxes and calms people with his company!”

To celebrate Hair @ the Stables first anniversary Becky is running a fantastic competition to win loads of free goodies–just head to her Facebook page or website hairatthestablesltd.co.uk for more info.

To book your appointment visit www.hairatthestablesltd.co.uk www.facebook.com/hairatthestablesltd 01422751330

Prepare to have your socks blown off when you visit the new Creating Spaces showroom at Copley.

The old engineering works is being transformed into a state of the art showroom. As a retailer, it’s the biggest, luxury investment Copley village has seen in years. Situated on Wakefield Road, it’s well placed for a visit and there’s plenty of on road parking. The Creating Spaces exterior looks very like the original building and as you get closer you’ll spot the HUGE windows that allow vast amounts of light into the building.  And inside, the space has been thoughtfully designed, ensuring accessibility for everyone; slopes have been added and doorways widened to ensure wheel chair users can visit with ease.

For your kitchen, bedrooms, office space, utility, or even a new boot room, Yorkshire based specialists have been selected to provide high quality, bespoke furniture for Creating Spaces customers. There will be 15 different display areas in the Creating Spaces showroom, there’s even a secret bedroom space created just for the youngsters amongst us. The latest in home technology has been catered for in the new space. Creating Spaces have fully researched the extensive array of home products for the future; lifestyle products and technology to enrich your living experience in the space you live, sleep and eat are on display and working for you to see in action including pop-up, draught-down cooking extractors (this you have to see!).

If you choose to avoid light pulls and switches then light sensors and apps will give you the opportunity to conserve and plan the energy you use in the home. In fact, when it comes to saving energy and the planet, Creating Spaces says this is at the heart of the business. With modern solutions to waste disposal and water filters, they have thought of everything. The man to talk to is Matthew Shackleton, he’s lived and worked locally all his life. For the last 20 years’ he has been a planning and design consultant for a local kitchen and bedroom retail showroom. He is thrilled to be part of setting up a business in Copley and has the backing of two successful partners to support him on his journey.

Matthew is looking forward to working with his new clients; creating new stunning spaces; he will project manage the installation, overseeing hishighly-qualified team of reputable tradesmen allowing you to relax whilst your room is transformed. The Creating Spaces team are thrilled to be able to provide a 20-year guarantee on all their kitchens. Matthew and the Creating Spaces team wish to strive to be different and by way of saying thanks to their clients, they have a rather special plan! Matthew says ‘We are planning to invite our satisfied customers back to our ‘totally unique’end of month celebration night, with live cooking displays from both local and national professional chefs’. What a good idea! So, if remodelling a room is on your list,Matthew is available to listen to your requirements ,offer advice and guide you through the process.

The product ranges are for all budgets and use the very latest state of the art software including an informative professional home survey. The extended opening hours allow you to pop in after work, up to 7 pm from Monday to Friday. Weekend hours will be 10 am-4 pm on Saturdays and Sundays.

To contact Creating Spaces, call 01422 355425 or email hello@creatingspacesgroup.com

For September, I am choosing one of my own poems from my new pamphlet. I made notes for this poem after I’d driven to Calderdale Royal Hospital for my first baby scan when I was expecting my son. Many years later, the poem was written and the start of autumn always reminds me of that special time in my life.

WEB ON THE WING MIRROR

The morning I drove to the hospital
hedges glimmered and a web,

silver-beaded, spanned the wing-mirror,
a spider crouched tight on the edge.

I imagined her, grafting all night-
constructing the scaffolding,

strengthening, testing, tying-off,
suspended like a climber on a rope,

all her energy in this creation,
something of her in every strand.

I could have destroyed her work
with a brush of the hand and yet

I drove so carefully that day–s
lowing each time the wind

forced her silk to billow, to bend
and she hung on in there

on a line taut as hope, flickered
like a heartbeat on a twelve-week scan.

Taken from The Mechanics of Love published by smith I doorstop.

I live in Calderdale with my family and have two books of poetry published–Light After Light by Valley Press and most recently The Mechanics of Love which was chosen by Carol Ann Duffy as a ‘Laureate’s Choice’ pamphlet. I will be reading alongside other local poets at the Halifax Festival of words at the Book Corner on 6^th October. More about me and my poetry can be found here http://www.poetrybusiness.co.uk/victoria-gatehouse

L4N UK is a monthly Halifax based ladies networking group, who aim to encourage, support and generally help grow connections and business for female owners and executives in pleasant surroundings. We’re based in Croft Myl, a fantastic office space at the top of the town centre. The friendly and casual networking meetings will be held at the new time on the last Thursday of each month, from 12 pm–2 pm, with some lunch included too, and the best bit, it’s free to attend.

“Networking at L4N is easy! You can make so many contacts in this relaxed and friendly atmosphere”said Liz, from George Knows,the new owners of L4N.“I’ve enjoyed the networking sessions and have ended up working with some of the people I met and also made some new business friends. If you wish to, you can get advice and help from people in the room as many attendees are from diverse and different businesses and backgrounds.

At L4N we want to make it as welcoming as possible. It’s not a formal meeting at all, we want everyone to be at ease when they come to a meeting, with coffee and tea on tap, and a friendly atmosphere. Gone are the scary 60 second pitches you may have heard about, instead we have open conversations about how we can all work together and help each other succeed!”

If you’re new to networking, or not confident about it, here are our top three networking tips to really get the most out of your networking experiences!

1. Practice what you are going to say! You will need to be able to talk about you and your business. So, practice a little introduction, and cover who you are, what your business is, and why you came to network today. It could be that you’ve never been to networking before, or you want to make new contacts. Make sure you say everything you want to say, you don’t want to miss something out!
2. Get business cards printed! Business cards are an easy way to give out your business details quickly, and it’s a reminder to them of who you are. Remember to bring a few, (it’s better to have too many, than to run out) and make sure they look good
3. Enjoy it! It shouldn’t be a chore to go to networking. After all, it will benefit your business, which will then in turn benefit you. It may be nerve-wracking at first, going to a room full of people you don’t know, but once the initial nerves settle, and you talk to people, you’ll relax and enjoy it.

Our speaker for September is Sally from Valley Will Writing, and we have a pop up shop from local jewellery maker Ami Hallgarth!

If you are interested in coming to the L4N September meeting, you can book your space here via Eventbrite. Places are limited so please book in advance. We look forward to seeing you there! or email