The Bradford review Thursday March 23rd 1865
OPENING OF THE COTTINGLEY TOWN HALL (21st March)
There were great doings at the little village of Cottingley, near Bingley, on Tuesday last;
for the inhabitants, together with not a few friends from other places, were opening their new
Town Hall. Hitherto, people had been accustomed to associate such a building with ideas of busy
cities, or corporate towns, and great emporiums of commerce; but we trust that before long
Cottingley will be only one of many villages possessing a Town Hall, and one well worthy of
the name. The need of such a building had long been felt in the village. A very small, and
inconvenient old building of but one room, had for a long time served the various purposes
of day and Sunday school, preaching room, and lecture hall of the Mechanics' Institute.
The inhabitants of the village at length determined that such an undesirable state of things
should no longer continue. They resolved that a more convenient and suitable building should
be provided. There was one great difficulty in the way, - that of obtaining a proper site.
The land in the village is the property of W. Ferrand, Esq., M.P. and John Hollings, Esq.,
of this town. Meetings were held, and at last the above-named gentlemen were memorialised.
They responded most generously to the request of the inhabitants, - the former by presenting
to them the Town Hill, on which the new building has been erected, and the latter by giving
the old school and its site. A site being thus obtained, the inhabitants commenced canvassing
for subscriptions; and on Saturday, December 26th, 1863, the foundation stone of the new
structure was laid by W. E. Glyde Esq., of Saltaire, in the presence of a large assembly.
The work of building, and of gathering subscriptions went on prosperously; and on Tuesday,
the Hall was opened. The building, which is in the Italian style of architecture, and possesses
a very handsome exterior, stands in a conspicuous position on an elevated site, which slopes
backward from the front, so as to admit of a School room underneath the main building 40 by
36 feet.
Above it is the Hall itself, which is 61 by 36 feet, with a gallery extending across the
entrance end, under which are placed two classrooms each 21 by 16 feet with entrances in
the body of the Hall behind. At the opposite end is a platform raised a little above the
floor, on which is placed a pulpit. The entire frontage of the building is 41 feet; and
it is situate nine yards from the road. The land around the building is 135 feet by 81 feet.
The Hall is warmed by an apparatus fixed in the basement storey, and next the school room.
Annexed to the school room is a spare room for forms, tables etc. The front of the building
consists of the principal entrance, with window over, and two heights of windows on each
side of the door, with a bell turret in the centre, and an arrangement for a clock.
The principal room is entered on the level from the ground. The body of the Hall is
fitted with the loose forms. The architect is Mr. Samuel Jackson, of this town; the
masonry has been executed by Messrs. Johnson and Denby; the joinering by Mr. W. Whitley;
the slating by Mr. Thomas Thornton; the plumbing by Messrs. Walton and Brear; the
plastering by Mr. James Murgatroyd; and the warming apparatus has been provided by
Mr. J. Longbottom.
For possessing this handsome Town Hall the inhabitants of Cottingley have to thank their own
self-sacrifice, the generosity of some friends, and the disinterested perseverance and
liberality of Mr. Thos Baines of Stock House. From the treasurer's statement it appears
that here has already been expended on the building nearly £1100; and that a sum of £240
is required to complete it. The total amount already subscribed has been £1093.9s.; of which
no less than £458.7s. has been raised in Cottingley. Among the donors are Mr. Baines and his
family, about £170, W. Murgatroyd esq., £35, Mr. J. S. Smith £15 4s., Mr. Thomas Thornton £15;
several other handsome donations, and - last but not least - the weekly subscriptions £100.15s.
It is certainly no small credit to the poorer inhabitants of the village that they have, week
after week, paid in subscriptions which have amounted to such a sum as this. Then, at Bradford
£140.15s. has been given; and among the donors are our liberal townsmen Alderman Brown and
Henry Harris, Esq., £10 each; Mr. George Hodgson and the late Mr. Alderman Kenion, £10 each;
Messrs S. and R. Kell, £5.5s. each. At Saltaire and Shipley, £254.13s. has been given.
Mr. Salt, with his wonted generosity, has subscribed £100; Mr. Glyde, £50, Mr. C. Stead,
£21, Mr. E. Salt, £10, and Councillor Scott, £10. At Bingley £39.18s. has been given,
including subscriptions from A. Harris Snr., and A. Harris Jnr., Esqrs., of £10 each.
Among other handsome gifts are £100 from John Crossley, Esq., of Halifax, £30 from
Isaac Holden Esq., and £10 from the Duke of Devonshire. We have stated above, that
about £240 is required to complete the building. It is hoped that some portion of this
sum will be raised from the opening services, and in order that this may be devoted entirely
to the purpose, the villagers subscribed a considerable sum to provide the tea which was
given on Tuesday afternoon. We trust the opening services may result in realising a
sufficient sum to complete the erection that the public spirit of the inhabitants of
Cottingley may be properly supported in carrying out their noble undertaking.
The people of Cottingley have shown that they deserve the help of their neighbours
in their important enterprise by having manfully laboured to help themselves.
The opening proceedings were commenced by a sermon, which was preached in the hall by the
Rev. Dr. Campbell, of Bradford, who selected for his text part of the 8th verse of the third
chapter of Ephesians, "The unsearchable riches of Christ," The room was crowded, and the
earnest words of exhortation and encouragement were most attentively listened to.
A tea meeting was afterwards held in the school room underneath the hall, and the number
of persons who flocked to partake of it was so large that they could only be accommodated
at four sittings, nearly 500 being present.
At the subsequent and most important meeting in connection with the engagements of the day,
the space was found almost inadequate to contain the visitors. The chair was occupied by
John Crossley, Esq., of Halifax, in the absence of W. Ferrand, Esq., M.P. who was advertised
to preside, and there were present on the platform Revds Dr. Campbell, J. P. Chown, J. Calvert,
of Allerton, E. Heron of Bingley, E. Ollerenshaw, Messrs. T. Baines, (the originator and
principal promoter of the movement), W. E. Glyde, Robert Yates, W. Milligan, James Fye,
B. Jackson, Architect, R. Aked, Thomas Thornton, K. Baines, Alfred Sharp, T. P. Muff,
T. D. Tordoff, John Roper, S. Brear, - Brear, - Ramsden, Thomas Stephenson, etc. etc.
To contribute the musical portion of the programme a choir of 30 or 40 voices,
composed principally of natives of the village, assisted by Mr and Mrs Magson,
Messrs Thomas, John, and George Wilcock, and Joseph Pickles, members of the Bradford
Festival Choral Society, volunteered their services, and, accompanied on the harmonium
by Miss Baines and Mr. Teale, of Ossett, afforded an agreeable variation to the joyous
proceedings. The hall was very tastefully decorated with evergreens, Chinese lanterns,
flags, and banners bearing scriptural and other appropriate inscriptions.
The meeting was opened with singing, and prayer, which was offered by the Rev. J. P. Chown.
Mr. T. Baines was then called upon to present the report in connection with the erection of
the building. He remarked that, with reference to the building, they had had comparatively
few disappointments; but he was very sorry that some of the gentlemen advertised to be present
on that occasion had not been able to fulfil their engagements. Mr Ferrand, and the Rev
Mr, Greeves, of Bradford, should have been present; but two or three days previously, Mr. Ferrand
had sent a letter, which he dare not announce before. The letter was as follows: -
"Dear Sir, - I am extremely sorry my parliamentary engagements will not permit me to
leave London at the beginning of next week. Therefore I cannot have the sincere pleasure
of being present at the opening of your beautiful town hall. The disappointment is great;
for I was very anxious to testify to your great value as a neighbour, as well as your great
goodness as a master. (Applause) It would also have been a source of gratification to
express my admiration of the high character and uniform good conduct of the inhabitants
of Cottingley; for during the quarter of a century that I have acted as a magistrate,
I have rarely known a case, even of a trifling nature, brought before us from your
peaceful and orderly village. (Applause). I sincerely trust that you and your workpeople
may be long spared to labour harmoniously together for each other's welfare, and to
celebrate the anniversary of a day so creditable to you all, and about which you may
well be proud. Mrs. Ferrand heartily joins me in wishing you a fine day and a great
gathering."
On receipt of that letter, he (Mr. Baines) put it carefully away, and told no one anything
about it; but on the Sunday morning, when he entered the village, and saw such a joyful
feeling manifested by the inhabitants, he was induced to write again to Mr. Ferrand, imploring
him to come, and telling him he dare not announce his non appearance after what he had seen.
Mr. Ferrand had replied as follows: -
"Dear Sir, - I regret that it is impossible for me to be with you tomorrow.
Mr. Sheridan's motion for the reduction of the Fire Insurance duties comes on
towards evening, and my constituents take so great an interest in it that my absence
might lose me my seat, and I am sure my friends would not wish this to occur. Although
absent, my hearty wishes are for your success."
Mr. Baines, remarking upon Mr. Ferrand's liberality, observed that the ground on which
that hall stood, with that extending to the brook, and forward, to the main street, and
containing some 1300 square yards, had been given by him. (Applause). Mrs. Ferrand had
contributed £10. Mr. Ferrand had also said that he should be glad to do anything for them,
and when the inhabitants wished to decorate the village in honour of the occasion, on informing
him of that inclination, he had given them the trees for that purpose. The Rev. Mr Greeves,
who had also been announced, had been prevented attending by illness; his sympathies were,
however, entirely with them. (Hear, Hear). He (the speaker) wished also to state that they
had no minister or special representative of the Established church at that meeting. The
vicar of Bingley, (Mr. Irwine) had repeatedly promised to be with them; but when the bills
were just ready for printing, he received a note from him saying that parochial and family
duties would prevent him from attending. He simply mentioned that to show that they had tried
to have a full and fair representation of the various denominations on the platform on that
occasion. He proceeded to say that they were now assembled in the ancient village of Cottingley,
a place which they were proud to say was named in the Domesday Book. After defining the
boundaries of that ancient place, which he said covered 2½ square miles, he stated that in 1861
there were 133 houses in the village, and those houses contained 667 inhabitants, so that that
building was capable of accommodating them all. (Applause). The old building, from which
the various institutions had been removed, had been occupied for public purposes for about
60 years. There had been some happy meetings there, and there had been persons educated in
that voluntary institution who had been an honour to society, and a blessing to the world.
That old school room was formerly the property of Joseph Hollings Esq., and afterwards of
John Hollings esq., of Whetley House. A rent of £6 per annum had been paid for it about
60 years, but at the same time that Mr. Ferrand made them a present of the site of that hall,
Mr. Hollings gave them the old school. (Hear, hear) Having stated a few more facts the
speaker next proceeded to give expression to some thoughts which had suggested themselves
in his mind. After detailing the various operations, religious and secular to which the hall
was devoted, shewing that the building was to be used as a Sunday, day and evening schools,
lecture hall, etc., he spoke of the encouragement they received from the friends who had
come to visit them from a distance, and comparing their joy to the joy of individuals in
various happy circumstances, he observed that they already felt the impulse of a new life;
that the great difficulty was passed, and that they must now by union, perseverance and
charity, crown the works so nobly commenced. That building was the consummation of freedom
and voluntaryism, and its object was to supply mental babes with food. There, tender care
and thoughtful sympathy would blend with order, system, and decorum, there would blend the
olive and the myrtle, and from that temple might they not expect worthies to arise who would
influence their destinies both in time and in eternity, and would purify the faith of mankind ?
(Applause).
The Chairman, after regretting the absence of Mr Ferrand, whom he would have been glad to meet
in association with the opening of that noble building, remarked that he came there to
congratulate them on the accomplishment of the work upon which, it was evident, their hearts
had all been set. More especially, he thought, the cause had been dear to Mr. Baines (Hear, hear)
. He (Mr. Baines) had spoken to him about that building more or less for several years,
as something that was really wanted. There was something to his mind very gratifying in
the erection of a building which was to afford accommodation for so large a number of objects
- a Day School, a Sunday school, a Mechanics' Institute, a Preaching Room, and, forsooth, a
Town Hall. He supposed that by and by they would be having also a mayor and corporation.
(Laughter). He thought that in a village like that, somewhat sparse in its population,
and whose circumstances did not warrant every section of the Christian community having
their own place of worship, such an arrangement as the one referred to was a very wise one,
and one that would evidently answer very well. He thought that Cottingley was very much
indebted to having such a representative as Mr. Baines. Their cause had been well set
forth by him away from Cottingley - (applause) - and he could assure them that it did not
suffer in his hands. He had examined that building, and he thought it was very well put
together, and was evidently intended to serve for some time to come. He hoped and trusted
that they would continue to make good and proper use of it. Referring to the efforts of the
inhabitants of Cottingley themselves in connection with the erection of that building, he
observed, that he did not think he had ever seen, taking all things into consideration,
the inhabitants of a place contribute so handsomely towards an object as they had done -
(hear, hear) - and he hoped that something would be done with a view to get the remaining
encumbrances cleared off. (Applause)
The Rev. J, P. Chown next addressed the meeting. He remarked that the building would be to the
inhabitants of Cottingley, very much what they had a mind to make it, and just in proportion as
they improved their opportunities, whether intellectual, social or spiritual, would they have
reason to rejoice in its erection, in looking back upon the opening services of that day. He
was sure that it would be within the desire of all there that that building should be made the
most of,(hear, hear). Here, they would have opportunities for self improvement, and for mutual
encouragement in all that was good; and it would be well for all to remember that they had
brought within their reach appliances, instruments, and powers, by which they might rise from
their present position, whatever it might be, to a degree of attainment and power that no
language could possibly measure. He need not remind them of the use that had been made in our
own and other lands of such facilities as would now be placed within their reach. He believed
almost any man could be almost anything in reason, on which he set his mind; he believed there
was no pit into which they could be flung, in which there was no rope by which they could
climb out; and he believed there was scarcely any position in which man could be placed,
in this part of our land especially, in which he might not only overcome all difficulties,
but rise to the enjoyment of what perhaps at one period of his life he could scarcely have
thought of attaining. He heard of some who would blot the word impossible out of their
dictionaries. He would not do that, but he would just blot out the first syllable and
change the word into possible - something that should be positive and encouraging. In
illustration of what a persevering man might do, he alluded to the noble achievement of
James Watt in developing that, which, next to the gospel itself, had proved the greatest
civilise on the face of the earth - the power of steam. They needed to set before them
some worthy end, and never to allow any subordinate attraction to draw them from their
object. He believed that the reason why people failed to succeed in many things they
undertook was because they had no definite object in life before them - their lives were
aimless, and therefore powerless. Sometimes they had an object before them, but it was
not sufficiently noble to call out their entire powers, and sometimes they had a noble
object before them, but they allowed themselves to be drawn away by every bubble that
folly might float, or every flower that folly might plant. In order to make the best
of the means that were within their reach, there must be self denial. They must not
expect that because the building was erected their work was done. (hear, hear). It was
only a means to an end. Sir Walter Scott never spoke a truer word when he said that no
man in this world could do anything worth the doing who was incapable of self denial.
(Hear, hear). Some men could not say "no" at all, and they had to pay dearly for it.
There were other men who could say "no" fast enough to others, who could not say "no"
to themselves. (Hear, hear). Let them learn to say "no" to themselves, and practice
self denial. Self indulgence ruined men - self denial made men. To practice self
denial, there must be courage, devotedness, and perseverance; and it was only by these
virtues that they could make the best of any means, whatever they might be. Give him
the man who would not only profit by the best means, but would make the best of
those means he happened to have, and who would never be discouraged because they
could not have the best. Mr. Chown concluded his remarks by quoting a few lines
of poetry, by way of encouragement to perseverance, and resumed his seat amid
loud applause.
The Rev. Dr. Campbell expressed the pleasure he had in rejoicing with the inhabitants of
Cottingley, on that occasion, and assured them that the visitors present, after witnessing
what they had done, would go back with a better heart and higher aspirations, to the labours
in which they were engaged. He encouraged them no to let that beautiful building be an
imposing entrance to nothing. He did not think they would, for the people who had accomplished
such a work as that, had been training themselves in that beautiful and glorious course to
which Mr. Chown had just referred, and he had therefore every reason to believe that the
progress they had so auspiciously begun would still be carried on. There was, however,
yet a little to do, before the building was entirely completed, and he would remind them o
f a proverb he had heard, that if a man had eaten a cow there was no use in worrying at the
tail. (Laughter)..They had nearly carried their work to a complete and satisfactory issue -
they had nearly eaten all up, and he would now strongly recommend them to eat the tail.
(Laughter).
Mr Joshua Laycock, in proposing a vote of thanks to the Chairman (who, with several gentlemen
on the platform, had to leave the meeting,) to those ladies and gentlemen who had so nobly
contributed towards that structure, and to those ladies and gentlemen who had honoured them
with their presence on that occasion, said it was a pleasing thing to attend such a meeting
as that, where the minds of the people were not pressed down by prejudice, and he could not
help feeling some degree of pride in being allowed to speak on that occasion. When they
considered that the wishes of forty years had been more than realised in the erection of
that noble building, every inhabitant of that village had cause to feel proud and thankful,
especially as they knew the broad basis upon which the building was founded - that it did not
belong to any particular sect or party, no one having the right to call in question another
man's faith. Those doors unfolded themselves to the world. He reminded them that it was
not outward form or physical constitution that made the man. The standard of the man had
been beautifully expressed in the following words of Isaac Watts: -
Were I so tall to reach the pole,
Or grasp the ocean in my span,
I'd still be measured by my soul,
The mind's the standard of the man.
And when he looked round that hall and viewed those young men and women, whose eyes beamed
with intelligence, he saw that they only wanted cultivation to develop their minds, and he
besought the rising generation of that their little village, to embrace those opportunities
placed within their reach in the morning of their day. It would save thousands and thousands
of sons and daughters, fathers and mothers, from having ever to enter the doors of the much
dreaded bastile, in which he held there must be something radically wrong, when it caused
those husbands and wives to be divided, who for years had lived together in the greatest harmony.
Mr. Adam Pollard seconded the motion. He thought the youngest boy and girl in that village
would ever remember the opening of that place from the many circumstances attendant upon it.
The vote of thanks was warmly accorded, and the chairman and others then left the meeting.
Mr. Baines then took the chair as the president of the executive committee, and called upon
Mr. W. E. Glyde to offer a few remarks. From the very first he had known of that undertaking,
he said, it had commended itself very strongly to his sympathies, and he did not know that
anything touched him more than what Mr. Baines told him, and what he afterwards saw for himself
was the fact, that in clearing away the hill, which had to be removed before they could erect
that building, every body in the village, who had strength of muscle, and who had spade and
mattock, had worked on the summer evenings most heartily. He had looked over the subscription
list, and he was very glad to see what a large sum had come from Cottingley itself, and they
must have had a great deal of hard work to get up subscriptions at Bradford, Halifax,
and elsewhere, because the people of these towns had so many claims upon them, that unless
a new claim was put before them very strongly, they could not respond to it. Referring to t
he erection of the building, he observed that although in a large town there was great
propriety in the different classes of religionists meeting in places apart from each
other, and with perfectly good brotherly feeling existing between them, yet in a small
place like that it would be unwise to split themselves up into different communities.
They all knew that the way to put out a large fire was by putting a little in one corner,
a little in another, and a little in another, and so it would be with the religious
feeling in Cottingley. If those who met there Sabbath after Sabbath to worship God
were to split up according to their differences of opinion there would be very much
less of true religion amongst them than there was. Some people might say that they
did not exactly like that the same place should be used for religious and for
secular purposes, and as an illustration of this feeling he related an incident
that occurred at his own home when he was a boy. In that day this feeling was
much stronger than at present, and upon a piano being introduced into the family home,
it could not be allowed that the same instrument should play an airy jig and a psalm tune, and the result was that
a psalm tune was not played upon it at all. And there were some persons who would look
with similar jealousy upon a building used for secular and for religious purposes. He
recollected very well persons telling them when they used the dining hall at Saltaire as
a place of worship, that they did not feel exactly like going to a chapel when going there;
but after all, the worship of God was the main thing, (hear, hear), whether they went to a
church or chapel, or worshipped in the open air; and a man whose heart was in the right place
could worship in one place as well as the other. It struck him that a great many had a sort
of notion that religion was a right and proper thing for Sundays, but that it ought to be
kept to Sundays, and that it was a troublesome sort of thing for the rest six days of the
week. He hoped that those who came there both on Sunday and during the week, would learn
that religion was not a thing they could put off with their Sunday clothes. If it was
worth having, it was to enter into all the relations of life, and religious men ought to
be better husbands, better fathers, better workmen, better friends, and better everything.
(hear, hear.) He supposed that in Cottingley as every where else under similar circumstances,
there were those who were not pleased with the erection of that building, and he could
thoroughly sympathise with those, as well as sympathise with they who were rejoicing in
the erection. He could easily understand that some would look back upon the hill that
once stood where that building was placed and regret that it had been removed. The hill
was called the Town Hill, it had been the custom to meet there, and many would no doubt
have mournful and pleasant recollections of the time they had spent there with their
friends who had gone for ever, and would have wished on account of such recollections
to let the hill remain. But they must not allow the love of old things to hinder them from doing what was right and good, for if our forefathers had been so strong in their
customs or their habits we should have been painted savages like them. Let those who viewed
that movement with regret, endeavour so to act as to secure the happiness of others, and let
them be themselves happy in the happiness they saw around them. (Applause)
Mr. Baines entered into an apology for an oversight which had been made in compiling the
financial statement, which oversight, he laid more particularly at his own door. In that
statement £100.15s was entered as having been contributed by the inhabitants of Cottingley,
but there had been no list prepared of the sum that each individual had subscribed.
The payment of those subscriptions had extended over twelve months time, and he could
assure them that when he went down to the old school and witnessed the little girls and
boys from six, eight, and ten years of age bringing their small weekly subscriptions, he
thought it the most beautiful sight it was possible to behold. The great majority of the
subscriptions promised were faithfully and honourably paid, and as an atonement for the
remissness which had occurred, he promised them a printed list should be prepared, which
should contain the names of all those who had contributed towards the movement. (Hear, hear).
The undertaking was not quite completed. To make it so they would require about £240.
Besides that, there were a number of their young people who wanted an organ, and they
had been obliged to give them the cold shoulder for a while. They told them they must wait,
and they had borrowed an harmonium for twelve months to keep them waiting. Then they
wanted a clock for the tower of the hall, which would cost about £40, and a good deal
of money would yet be required to purchase all they wanted. Mr. Baines, with great
satisfaction, stated that a number of ladies, who had gone round to beg money to
provide the tea, had obtained from 57 individuals in half crowns and five shillings,
the sum of £16, He mentioned this to show that their undertaking was not contributed
to by this body or that body alone, but that it was the undertaking of a united people.
(Applause).
A vote of thanks was next accorded to the ladies, who had presided at the trays, on the motion
of Mr. S. Jackson, Architect, seconded by Mr. K. Baines, and after one or two concluding pieces
had been sung by the choir, the days proceedings terminated with prayer.
The net profits from the tea were £25, and the collection in the afternoon and evening
realised £40.