Plan? What plan?

14th June 2021 The plan was, that we would spend a week on Derwent Lass, reserving two days for Ian to install some solar panels on the roof, and have an additional battery fitted by Bronte Boats. I could amuse myself in various ways according to my whim – sorting out cupboards, cleaning, taking photographs, entertaining a friend, reading, that sort of thing. Then we would embark on our first leisure trip, taking a couple of days to go west on the Calder & Hebble Navigation towards Hebden Bridge, perhaps incorporating some walking in the surrounding countryside, which on the Ordnance Survey map, looked rather inviting. Then we would return to Mirfield.
The first two days went well. The new battery was fitted very efficiently, Ian mended a few things, and after overcoming some difficulties, the solar panels were in place and worked.

I wandered up the towpath towards Ledgard Bridge along the Mirfield Promenade. This is a four-mile stretch of the towpath managed by a partnership of local community volunteers and the Canals and Rivers Trust, with the aim of making the waterway through Mirfield accessible to all, and enhancing the environment for walkers and cyclists. https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/media/library/6484.pdf

In the 19th century, there were many different industries on the southern bank of the navigation, including several maltsters. J.G. and F. Crowther was one of two to survive into the 20th century, before being bought by Bass.

On the Tuesday afternoon, I had a visit from my friend Julia. Julia’s mother and my mother were best friends at Romford County High School for Girls, in the 1930s, and Jeanette, Julia’s mother, was my godmother. We had last seen each other in 1960, at Julia’s younger brother’s Christening, but had got to know each other on Facebook in the last few years.

We talked non-stop for more than 3 hours. We were so engrossed that neither of us remembered to take a selfie to mark the occasion on Facebook. But Julia did give me some lovely roses and so I took a photo of those instead.

We set off on our mini-cruise the next day.

But we didn’t get to Hebden Bridge. Fate intervened and sent us instead to Pinderfields Hospital, Wakefield. In the interests of patient confidentiality, no further details will be recorded here, except to say that all’s well that ends well, and give a big shout-out to the Yorkshire Ambulance Service, and also to thank our neighbours at the marina, Andy and Sue, and Colin and Monica, for their kindness and concern. Thanks also to Lance, assistant manager at the Navigation Tavern, who as a First Responder monitored the patient’s condition and provided support until the ambulance arrived. Phew!

Saturday June 19 2021 After being released from Pinderfields on Friday evening, we were feeling a bit fragile on Saturday and not really inclined for boating. We had intended to stay a full week on the boat, until the Monday, but the forecast for Sunday was for constant, heavy rain. So we decided to have a leisurely stroll round Mirfield and look at some of the historic buildings before heading home.

I knew that I had a family connection with Mirfield, and my cousin John confirmed that our great-great grandparents, Joseph and Ellen Twiss, lived there in the 1840s before moving to Cheshire some years later. Their eldest child, Louiza, was a 7-month old infant according to the 1841 census.

Louiza became a family legend as the formidable Great-Aunt Louie. She was widowed at a young age and came to look after my grandfather and his older siblings after their mother died when Grandpa was only 2 years old.

Mirfield would have looked very different when our great-great grandparents lived there. Eastthorpe Lane, which is given in the census entry as Joseph and Ellen’s address, is now Huddersfield Road, and although the road was built in the 1760s, most of the buildings date from the late Victorian era.

Some though, survive from an ealier time. Water Hall dates from 1624.

On the way to St Mary’s Church, on a hill on the eastern side of the town, we passed the Old Rectory. Two men were working in the garden, and as I stopped to take a photograph of the stonework on the gate post, one of them approached us. It was John, the owner, and he very kindly invited us in to have a closer look at the house. He bought the house a few years ago and embarked on a work in progress to restore as many original features of the house and garden as possible.

St Mary’s Church, a short distance up the hill from the Old Rectory, dates from the 13th Century. It was rebuilt in 1826, and all the Bronte sisters attended services there. A bigger church, designed by George Gilbert Scott, was constructed in 1871. George Gilbert Scott was a prolific Victorian architect whose designs included St Pancras Station. Scott’s ‘restoration’ methods drew controversy, with William Morris and other Pre-Raphaelites setting up The Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings to oppose his methods. But when St Mary’s was built. Scott had recommended that the old church tower should be retained on the site, preserving its mediaeval features.

We wandered back to the marina and had lunch and a chat with Lance at the Navigation Tavern before packing up and driving home.

Ian’s already planning our next trip.