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The Heavy Woollen District is a region of textile-focused industrial development in West Yorkshire, England. It acquired the name because of the heavyweight cloth manufactured there from the early 19th century.
The district is made up of parts of the modern day boroughs of Kirklees, Leeds and Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England. Located around the towns of Dewsbury, 
Memorial to injured soldiers who died at the Heavy Woollen District Military Hospital, Staincliffe, DewsburyHeavy Woollen District Hospital Radio
{{coord, 53.593, -1.801, display=title, region:GB_scale:100000 Geography of Leeds Geography of the City of Wakefield Geography of Kirklees Textile mills in West Yorkshire
The Heavy Woollen District is a region of textile-focused industrial development in West Yorkshire, England. It acquired the name because of the heavyweight cloth manufactured there from the early 19th century.
The district is made up of parts of the modern day boroughs of Kirklees, Leeds and Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England. Located around the towns of Dewsbury, Batley
Batley is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, England. Batley lies south-west of Leeds, north-west of Wakefield and Dewsbury, south-east of Bradford and north-east of Huddersfield. Batley is part of the ...
, Heckmondwike
Heckmondwike is a town in the metropolitan borough of Kirklees, West Yorkshire, England, south west of Leeds. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is close to Cleckheaton and Liversedge. It is mostly in the Batley and Spen p ...
and Ossett, the area extends to the towns and villages of Liversedge, Gomersal
Gomersal is a town in Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England. It is south of Bradford, east of Cleckheaton and north of Heckmondwike. It is close to the River Spen and forms part of the Heavy Woollen District.
History
Gomersal was attested i ...
, Gildersome, Birkenshaw, Mirfield
Mirfield () is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Kirklees, West Yorkshire, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is on the A644 road (Great Britain), A644 road between ...
, Cleckheaton
Cleckheaton is a town in the Metropolitan borough of Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is situated south of Bradford, east of Brighouse, west of Batley and south-west of Leeds. It is ...
, Morley Morley may refer to:
Places England
* Morley, Norfolk, a civil parish
* Morley, Derbyshire, a civil parish
* Morley, Cheshire, a village
* Morley, County Durham, a village
* Morley, West Yorkshire, a suburban town of Leeds and civil parish
* ...
, Tingley
Tingley is a suburban village in the City of Leeds in West Yorkshire, Northern England, forming part of the parish of West Ardsley. Tingley forms part of the Heavy Woollen District. It is situated between the cities of Leeds and Wakefield.
...
, East Ardsley, Birstall and Horbury
Horbury is a town in the City of Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England. Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is situated north of the River Calder about three miles (5 km) south west of Wakefield and two miles (3 km) to th ...
. The manufacture of wool cloth for clothing, blankets, rope and twine continues in the district.
The area was one of the key textile centres in Yorkshire, famed for its production of " shoddy and mungo". For years companies had tried to blend different fibres without success leading to the term, "munt go", i.e. "mustn't go" as a Yorkshire colloquialism. Machinery invented in Batley to grind soft rags (shoddy) is thought to have first been devised in 1813, and for hard rags (mungo) later on. Most mills have either closed or put to other uses, but some shoddy/mungo mills remain such as Edward Clay & Son Ltd. in Ossett.
History
The Heavy Woollen District branch of theGeneral Union of Textile Workers
The General Union of Textile Workers was a trade union representing textile workers in England, most of its members being weavers in the West Riding of Yorkshire.
History
The union was founded in 1881 following a strike at Newsome Mills in Hudd ...
was formed in 1892 to service the needs of the local population. The union produced a publication entitled ''Heavy Woollen District Textile Record'', as a newsletter for distribution to members by the union's local collectors of subscriptions.
A contingent from churches within the Roman Catholic Diocese of Leeds visited cemeteries in France where the remains of 25 fallen soldiers from the Heavy Woollen District during World War I and World War II are interred. Dewsbury Cemetery has a memorial dedicated to four soldiers who died at the Heavy Woollen District Military Hospital, Staincliffe, Dewsbury, from injuries sustained during WW1
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fighti ...
.
Transport
The area was served by the Yorkshire (Woollen District) Electric Tramways between 1903 and 1934, which were replaced with buses operated by Yorkshire Woollen District Transport company.Sport
There is still a Heavy Woollen District football association and junior cricket association, both with representative teams. The cricket league originally defined the district as within a six-mile radius of Batley Town Hall, but this was extended to an eighteen-mile radius. The 'Heavy Woollen District Cricket Challenge Cup' was first competed for in 1883.References
Reference bibliography
* *External links
Memorial to injured soldiers who died at the Heavy Woollen District Military Hospital, Staincliffe, Dewsbury
{{coord, 53.593, -1.801, display=title, region:GB_scale:100000 Geography of Leeds Geography of the City of Wakefield Geography of Kirklees Textile mills in West Yorkshire