In 1870-72, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Batley like this:
BATLEY, a town, a township, and a subdistrict in the district of Dewsbury, and a parish in the districts of Dewsbury and Hunslet, W. R. Yorkshire. The town adjoins the Leeds and Manchester railway, 1¾ mile N by E of Dewsbury; and has a station on the railway, and a post office‡ under Leeds. ...
It is remarkable only as a seat of manufacture; but evinces much public spirit, and has a lecture hall, with mechanics' institution, erected in 1853. Pop., 7,206. Houses, 1,480. The township includes also the hamlets of Brownhill, Brookroyd, Carlinghow, Clark-Green, Havercroft, Chapel-Fold, Healey, Staincliffe, White See, Kelpin-Hill, Capas-Height, Purlwell, and new Roadside, and part of the hamlet of Batley-Carr. Acres, 2,140. Real property, £38,795. Pop., 14,173. Houses, 2,956. The subdistrict is conterminate with the township. The parish includes also the townships of Morley, Gildersome, and Churwell. Acres, 6,446. Real property, £69,308. Pop., 25,278. Houses, 5,260. The property is subdivided. The manufacture of cloths, carpets, and other fabrics from "shoddy," or the reduced substance of old woollen rags, is here carried on to a great extent; and there are upwards of twenty-two factories. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Ripon. Value, £300.* Patrons, Earl Cardigan and Earl Wilton. The church is later English. The p. curacy of St. Thomas is a separate charge, constituted in 1868. The vicarages of Morley and Gildersome, and the p. curacy of Staincliffe, also are separate. There are a handsome Independent chapel of 1856, an elegant Wesleyan chapel of 1861, four other dissenting chapels, a Roman Catholic chapel, an endowed grammar school, a workhouse, and charities £237.
Batley through time
Batley is now part of Kirklees district. Click here for graphs and data of how Kirklees has changed over two centuries. For statistics about Batley itself, go to Units and Statistics.
GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth, History of Batley, in Kirklees and West Riding | Map and description, A Vision of Britain through Time.
URL: https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/479
Date accessed: 18th April 2024
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