Welcome to Mirfield Memories

This site is the place where the young people of Mirfield in West Yorkshire, and those who have moved here in recent years, can see and learn something of how it was when I was growing up. I hope that it will also bring back some memories for those who have moved away but still have Mirfield in their hearts. I will be covering some of the changes that have occurred in recent years and some that happened many years ago. I will be mentioning places that no longer exist and will show photographs wherever possible.

I don't set myself up as an authority on all things Mirfield but I have lived here most of my life and have taken notice of the things I have seen and heard and can also draw on the experiences of a small pool of others like myself. I must also acknowledge a massive debt of gratitude to a lady I have never met. Judith Stonebridge Doyle (pictured on the right at age 11) has provided many invaluable ideas and memories, and has put in countless hours of proof reading from a far-flung outpost in Canada to where the Stonebridge family emigrated in 1952.

No corner of Mirfield will be spared as we travel from Shepley Bridge at one end to the Dumb Steeple at the other. We will touch on the old halls such as Blake Hall, Water Royd Hall and Eastthorpe Villa which are no longer there and also Hopton Hall, Over Hall and the Old Rectory which are still inhabited today along with mention of the churches and chapels. Here you will also find information about the railway and the stations that we have largely lost such as the Leeds New Line which passed through Battyeford and Northorpe Higher stations. The long lost Engine Shed and the old Mirfield Station will also feature in the railway section.

No website on Mirfield is complete without at least a mention of our favourite son, Patrick Stewart. This site is no exception and I have a section dedicated to him. Our schooldays were intermingled so you find numerous mentions and photographs of our early schools, Lee Green Infant's, Crowlees CofE Boys' School, and Mirfield Modern School. There is also a lot on Mirfield Grammar School (MGS) where I ended up until 1956.

This website was last updated 24, February 2008. A 2007 aerial view of the old Engine Shed as demolition started has been added to the "Lost Industries, Railways" page.

December 15, 2007. A 1951 photo of the sports day for Junior Schools, held at the Mirfield Memorial Ground, has been added to the "Other Schools" page and 5 more names have been supplied for the Eastthorpe Girls photo on the same page.

October 4, 2007. MGS reunion photos added to MGS Photos page.

September 2, 2007. A fourth page has been added to the street scenes under Mirfield Today and Over Hall has been added to the Historic Halls page.

August 19, 2007. Mirfield Today, Mirfield Show updated for 2007 with link to more photos.

August 5, 2007. Major update of the navigation buttons and headers. Site search added.

July 23, 2007. Several more names added to the Eastthorpe Infants' school photo, courtesy of Pat Allen (nee Nelson).

June 4, 2007. More names added to Eastthorpe Girls' school photo and MGS 1957 photo, courtesy of Rona Rowsby (nee Senior).

April 6, 2007. Photos and an account of the fire at Holme Bank Mills in March 1963 added to the 'Mirfield 1960-99' page. Changes have been made to the method of adding names to some of the photos on the 'Crowlees' and 'Other Schools' pages. The Guestbook has also been reinstated.

March 20, 2007. Photo of Eastthorpe School Christmas party from the early 1950s added to the 'Other Schools' page. 'External Links' page updated.

February 12, 2007. Mirfield Grammar School magazine from 1956 added. This fills a gap and we now have a continuous run from 1954 to 1962.

February 1, 2007. Two photos from Eastthorpe Girls' and Infants' School from 1954-55 added on the 'Other Schools' page. Also an early photo of Eastthorpe showing the Caxton Building and the Ex-Serviceman's club has been added to the 'Life in the 40s' page.

December 19, 2006: Knowl County Council School magazine from 1951 added to "Other Schools' page.

December 10, 2006: Battyeford School 1951/52, Christ Church Infants 1945 added to 'Other Schools' page. Mirfield Modern School Class 2A from 1952 added to 'Modern School' page. Cinderella Panomime from 1955 added to Journals in Contributions section.