Glusburn

Glusburn is a village situated in England, North Yorkshire, Craven, with a population of 3,910. It is located on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales. Glusburn is the name of the old parish, but the newer part of the village is known as Cross Hills.

History

The village most likely dates back to the 8th century. The site on which Glusburn is situated on is just above Glus Beck, which means the 'shining stream'. The site would have been rough uncultivated land, moorland and forest, with wolves, wild boar and deer around at the time.

Before 1066, most of the area was held by Earl Edwin, a Saxon nobleman. However he broke his oath of loyalty to William of Normandy and consequently the King took the land as revenge. Therefore in the Domesday Book, the site is described as 'Terra Regis' or 'Lands of the King'.

In 1369, John Scarborough was Lord of the Manor, and is believed to have lived at Glusburn Old Hall. In the sixteenth century, the estate was sold partly to John Currer of Kildwick Hall, but also to William Garforth of Steeton.

In 1379, it was recorded that 23 people in Glusburn paid a poll tax to Richard III. However in 1587, smallpox ravaged the village population.

At the end of the 17th century, Vestry rule came to Glusburn and it was put under the parish of Kildwick.

In 1700, most villagers were farmers, with spinning and weaving as a secondary income. During the later part of the 18th century there were major improvements in the transport infrastructure. In 1773 the Leeds - Liverpool Canal was opened and then in 1786 the Keighley to Kendal turnpike road was opened. This was followed in 1823 by the Blackburn Addingham Cocking End Road. The improvements brought large numbers of people to the area and many more houses and workplaces were built. Six stagecoaches a day took advantage of these new roads. In 1847, Kildwick and Crosshills railway station was opened, which had perhaps the greatest effect on the village and marked the end of the stagecoach era.

During the early 19th century, trade suffered and many people became destitute. In 1850, Glusburn had around 600 inhabitants; many were engaged in textile work, with farming as a secondary income.

John William Hartley constructed a small weaving shed in Glusburn and a John Horsfall came over from Oxenhope to learn his trade with him. John Horsfall then married John William Hartley's daughter and at first became his partner and then the sole owner of the weaving shed. He was extremely successful and his business grew rapidly. He required more workers, which meant that additional terrace housing was built. The main building of the mill dates from this time.

John Horsfall went on to build Hayfield Hall for his family, as well as the Institute, and a park across the road from the mill. At its peak the mill employed 500 people. In the 1950s, there was a shortage of workers in the area, consequently the Horsfall family had to recruit girls from Malta. A hostel was built to house them.

In 1905, Ezra Laycock bought the first bus in the area, initially to help people from Cowling and Glusburn to get to Kildwick station. In 1924, the routes were taken over by Yorkshire Road Car Company and the Burnley, Colne & Nelson Joint Transport.

In 1972, the mill was bought by Sirdar Wools Ltd and operated until 1995; it was mainly concerned with dyeing knitting wools. But in 1995 it was closed down again until it was bought in 1997/98 by Ellisons Holdings plc, which produced circlips, rings and fasteners for the automotive industry. Now the mill is owned by an American company TransTechnology (GB) Ltd. Currently the number of employees is increasing from 300+, including many Poles, and the mill is expanding.

External links

* [http://www.glusburn.org.uk/index.htm Glusburn and Crosshills History]
* [http://www.glusburn.n-yorks.sch.uk/ Glusburn Primary School website]
* [http://www.glusburninstitute.org.uk/ Glusburn Institute]