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The History of Barnbow
Part 7
INTO THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
From The Barwicker No.65
Mar. 2002
The first six inch to a mile Ordnance
Survey map published in 1849 may have caused some
confusion by labelling the whole of the southern
part of the parish of Barwick-in-Elmet as
'Barnbow'. However the census authorities in
1871 still maintained their previous practice of
separating and naming all the small settlements
in the area, including what I have called
'traditional' Barnbow which is the subject of
these articles.
The 1871 census returns gives more detail
than previously of the locations of the houses in
Barnbow. Under Barnbow Lane, there were six
dwellings plus one house unoccupied, with a
population of 20. Occupations listed were:
agricultural labourer (2), coal miner (out of
employ), collier, sick-nurse (female), charwoman
and dressmaker (2). Surnames of heads of
household were Smith, Goodhall (2), Schofield,
Scholes and Middleton.
In Barnbow Springs there were two
dwellings plus one unoccupied, with a population
of eight. Occupations were shepherd, coal miner
and two worsted weavers. Their surnames were
Preston and Linley.
At Barnbow Springs Farm (now called Upper
Barnbow Farm), Edward Furniss is again recorded
as a farmer of 250 acres employing two labourers.
In addition to his wife, one son and two
daughters, two male farm servants and one female
general servant lived there.
At Barnbow Carr Farm, Joseph Richardson
farmed with an acreage of 38, a small increase
over 1861. Also living there were his wife and
son, and a male boarder of 19 listed as 'farmer's
pupil'. Also at Barnbow Carr, there were four
dwellings plus two unoccupied, with a population
of nine. Occupations were: draper (retired),
general servant, agricultural labourers (2) and
labourer. Surnames were Guest, Newby, Winterburn
and Thompson. With only 14 occupied dwellings
and 49 inhabitants, the 1871 census shows that
Barnbow had only about half the population as in
1851.
In the 1881 census we find that there were
six houses in Barnbow Lane with 25 inhabitants.
Occupations were coal miners (3), game keeper,
agricultural labourer, annuitant, labourer at a
coal mine and female servant. Surnames of the
occupiers of these houses were Smith, Thompson,
Lewis, Phipps, Scholes and Goodhall.
At 'Spring Field Farm House' (Upper
Barnbow Farm) was Joshua Furniss, born in Barnbow
and aged 34, a farmer of 252 acres employing two
labourers and two boys. We do not know what relation he
was to the previous occupier Edward Furniss,
probably his son. He lived with his wife Jane
(neée Crosland), one male servant and a female
general domestic servant. Also at the farm,
another male farm servant lived in a detached
building. Nearby were two cottages with five
inhabitants, including a shepherd (Wilson) and a
coal miner (Lindley).
At Barnbow Carr, Joseph Richardson, a
farmer of 40 acres, remained with his family, a
total household of seven, including an
agricultural labourer. Also in Barnbow Carr
were seven dwellings, plus one unoccupied, with
27 inhabitants. Occupations were varied and some
unusual: farm labourer, biscuit baker, general
labourer (2), boot and shoe maker, gardener,
pupil teacher, 'billiard marker service' and a
wool merchant (Mark Barker, born in Leeds) and
his family.
The boot and shoemaker, Joseph Geldard,
became Sunday school superintendent and trustee
of the Methodist chapel in Barwick. The Furniss
and Crosland families were also prominent
Methodists and Joshua's wife Jane laid one of the
foundation stones of the new chapel in Barwick in
1899. Surnames of other occupiers at Barnbow
Carr were Kirby, Cass, Broadbent and Wilson.
There appeared to be no-one living in
Barnbow Springs. With 18 houses and 69
inhabitants, Barnbow had recovered somewhat from
the marked drop in population in 1871, but it
fell far short of the total for 1851 when it
topped a hundred.
The Barwick Parish rate book for 1886 has
been made available to us and the whole document
has been put on our web site. It is much less
detailed than the 1862 rate book described in
earlier articles, recording multiple holdings and
not individual houses and parcels of land. The
occupier, the owner, a brief description of the
property, the name or situation of the property,
the estimated extent and the gross estimated
rental are given for each entry.
There are 16 entries for Barnbow. Far and
away the largest item is a house, buildings and
land owned by FET Gascoigne esq. and occupied by
Joshua Furniss, with 251 acres, 1 rood, 20
perches at a rental of £323. 3s. 0d. This is
clearly Upper Barnbow Farm.
There are three other houses and five
cottages recorded in the returns. Five holdings
consist of small amounts of land, the greatest
being 11 acres. One entry comprises an 'Engine
House, sheds, etc.' and is owned by George
Thompson and occupied by Benjamin Foster.
It is unlikely that the dwellings
recorded here represent the total number in
Barnbow at the time, as revealed by the census
returns, so we must assume that the other
properties are hidden somewhere in other entries.
The information available here to us is therefore
incomplete. Another source of uncertainty is
that none of the so-called 'occupiers' of the
holdings was living in Barnbow at the time of the
1881 census. Only two of the surnames on the
list - Crumpton (Crompton?) and Carter - appear
in the 1891 census. Seven of the holdings have,
as 'owners', three individuals described as
'representatives' - we must assume agents of the
true owner. Crumpton 'occupied' four dwellings
so it seems likely that they were sub-let to
unidentified tenants.
As a source of information about the true
inhabitants of Barnbow and their lives, the book
therefore is incomplete and misleading. But at
the time it allowed the parish official to
collect the rates accurately and completely, so
it cannot be ignored. Perhaps someday it will
provide us with more of the information we seek.
The census returns of 1891 give us less
information than previously about the situations
of the dwellings in Barnbow. There are 11 houses
(one unoccupied) said to be in 'Barnbow'.
Benjamin Stephenson, born in Methley, is
described as 'farmer' and clearly occupies Upper
Barnbow Farm. He lived with his wife and a son
and a daughter both in their 20s and grandson.
Also living there were two male farm servants in
their 20s. Another son lived with his wife and
child close by.
Other occupations of the heads of
household at the time were market gardener (2),
'living on own means', farm labourer (2),
labourer, moulder and gamekeeper. Surnames were
Middleton, Carter, Crompton (2), Bullock, Denis,
and Johnston. None of the adults and only a
handful of the children were born in Barwick
parish. There were 41 people living in these
houses.
In Barnbow Springs there were two houses,
each occupied by large families of eight members.
The heads of the households were a collier called
Walker and a shepherd called Edwards.
The census shows us that there were 12
occupied dwellings in Barnbow with a total
population of 57, much lower than half a century
earlier; a settlement in decline. Most of the
working population were engaged in agriculture or
horticulture and there was only one miner,
indicating a reduction in this industry at that
time.
The first 25 in. to the mile Ordnance
Survey map published in 1893 includes many
previously unrecorded details even though the
Barnbow area in the main is made up of
agricultural land. Buildings are shown and the number of dwellings can be roughly counted.
Barnbow House is shown and about five other
dwellings at Barnbow Carr. At Carr Head the farm
is shown and also two cottages. There are two
cottages on the western side of Barnbow Lane near
the old Hall site and there are two cottages at
Barnbow Springs, giving a total close to the 1891
census figure.
Bog House no longer appears nor does the
osier bed shown on earlier maps and plans. The
internal boundaries drawn to separate
administrative districts are no longer included
and the labelling on the 1849 map of the whole
southern part of Barwick parish as 'Barnbow' has
been omitted, ending the confusion caused. A
forested area of 4.302 acres called Barnbow
Plantation is shown on the eastern side of
Barnbow Lane.
In the Barwick-in-Elmet entry in Kelly's
Directory for the West Riding of 1893, there are
a number of farmers included, in some cases with
their farms named, but not in Barnbow. Benjamin
Stephenson, farmer occurs in the Scholes section
and it seems likely that this refers to Upper
Barnbow Farm. In the 1897, 1901, 1904 and 1908
directories he is replaced by Arthur Stephenson,
farmer, presumably his son. After that the
Stephensons disappear from the area and it not
possible to identify the Barnbow tenant farmer
from the entries given.
In the years before World War I, golf
blossomed in this area. Barwick Golf Club
however suffered from lack of public transport
from Leeds and other parts and it closed in 1911
(see 'The Barwicker No.26). Short- lived courses
were established at Cross Gates and Scholes but
it is the course opened in 1913 and called
'Garforth Golf Club' that remains today. It lay
entirely within the parish of Barwick-in-Elmet at
the time, running westward from the Garforth
road near Laverack to beyond Barnbow Springs and
therefore into the area I have called
'traditional' Barnbow, the subject of these
articles. As far as we know, no comprehensive
history of the club has been written and we hope
that this omission will be rectified in the
future.
Another incursion into 'traditional'
Barnbow occurred during the 1st World War when in
1915 the Barnbow Shell Filling Factory was
opened. This covered a large area extending from
the North Eastern railway line northwards across
the Cock Beck, with a large reservoir near the
site of Barnbow Hall. The history of this
short-lived but vital wartime factory complex has
been described by Tony Cox in The Barwicker No 47.
Barnbow Pit was sunk in 1924, a short
distance to the north east of Shippen House, and
made use of some of of the redundant buildings of
the shell filling factory. Its short history is
described by Douglas Laycock in 'The Barwicker'
Nos 58, 59 and 60.
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