Lockwood, Huddersfield

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Lockwood, a district to the south west of the Huddersfield Town Centre and generally to the west of the River Holme. It is in the West Yorkshire area of England. It was originally called North Crosland and part of the Crosland family estate. It was eventually taken over by the Lockwood family after a series of disputes between the two families.

It has a small railway station, on the Penistone Line between Huddersfield and Sheffield situated in Swan Lane, just before the the Lockwood viaduct, which spans the valley and connects the line to Berry Brow. Prior to the mid 1970s it had its own extensive goods yard, coal yard, sidings and Station masters House. The goods yards were used to service and supply raw materials to the former engineering works of David Brown Ltd. This particular division of David Brown's produced gearboxes for industrial machinery and hydraulic drives, and some military armoured vehicles. The gear box that turns the top of the Post Office Tower in London was designed and built there and the electric motors that drives the gearing was manufactured by Brook (Electric) Motors, based in Brockholes.

A Branch line from the station, just before the Railway Viaduct, went via Armitage Bridge and Netherton to Meltham. This passed Meltham Mills where David Brown Ltd. had a tractors manufacturing facility. The former Station masters house is now a private residence and the goods yards are aprt of a timber merchants

Lockwood is the manufacturing base of locally renown Dixon's Ice Cream.

The Huddersfield Rugby Union Club, at Lockwood Park, is situated below and to both sides of the Railway viaduct, in the former Bentley and Shaw's Brewery.

[edit] Lockwood Brewery

Timothy Bentley, founder of Bentley & Shaw's Lockwood Brewery, is the person recognised as the inventor of the Stone Square system of brewing beer; See:- Yorkshire Squares. This method allowed high levels of carbon dioxide to remain in the beer during fermentation, helping to give it a unique flavour and smoothness when served. The stone used in the brewery came from stone quarries in Elland.

The brewery was taken over by Bass Charrington before it closd down in the late 1960s.

View of Lockwood, with the viaduct top left and the River Holme below
View of Lockwood, with the viaduct top left and the River Holme below

[edit] External links

Coordinates: 53.63495° N 1.79882° W