DumbSteeple(orDoom
Steeple).Theoriginsofthis
obelisk.areobscure.
Somesuggestitwasaplace
wheresanctuarycouldbe
claimed.Otherssuggestit
isaparishboundarystone,
markingthethreefold
intersectionofMir ield,Clifton
&Hartsheadparishes.
Onthenightof11April1812
itwasthethemusterpointfor
about150Luddites.
The ieldtothenorthofthe
obeliskwasthemarshalling
areafortheforcepriorto
movingofftoCartwright’s
MillatRawfolds.
ThreeNunsInn.Aninn
hasprobablystoodonthis
sitesinceearlyinthe16th
century.
Itsintriguingnamemay
refertothreenuns,Cecilia
Topcliffe,JoanLeventhorp
andKatherineGrice,fromthe
formerKirkleesPriorynearby.
WhenthePrioryhousewas
surrenderedtoHenryVIII’s
commissionersin1539,it
housedeightprofessednuns.
Theprioress,togetherwith
fournuns,retiredtoahouse
inMir ieldknownasPaper
Hall,(acorruptionofPapist
Hall.)
Cecilia,JoanandKatherine
remainedclosetotheformer
priorywheretheyfoundedthe
eponymousinn.
RobinHood.Thestoryof
RobinHoodrelatesthat
hediedatKirkleesPriory.
AccompaniedbyLittleJohn,
anagedRobintravelledfrom
theBarnsdaleareanorthof
Doncastertobebledbyhis
TheThreeNunsPublicHouse.Standingonthefootwayfacing
theThreeNuns,turnleftandfollowthebusyA62for400metresto
the DumbSteeple.Ablueplaqueheregivessomeinformation
relatingtotheDumbSteepleandtheLuddites.
ReturntotheThreeNuns.
Ontheeasternsideofthecarparkisapathwhichfollowsanold
laneinanortherlydirection.Followthepath.After700metres
ignoreapathofftotheright.Afterafurther300metres,wherethe
trackforks,takethelanetotheright (CrossHillsLane)and
followitintoHartsheadvillage,emergingbyCrossHillsCottageata
bendonHartsheadLane.
Crosstheroadandproceedstraightforward.Pass(orcallat)‘The
GrayOx’pub.ContinueforwardpastPeepGreenLaneupChurch
Laneandarriveat HartsheadChurch.
Passthechurchandfollowtheroadroundtotherighttothecross
roads.ThesearesitedintheformerextensiveHartsheadMoor.(The
informationpanelerectedbytheSpenValleyCivicSocietyexplains
theextentofHartsheadMooratthetimeoftheLudditeattackhere
inFebruary1812.)
CrosstheroadcarefullyandgoforwardalongHareParkLane.
After400metresyouwillarriveatasmall
Friends(Quakers)burialground.Thisismarkedonolder
mapsas‘TheSepulchre’(anecclesiastical/biblicalnamefor
atomb).Takethefootpathatthefrontrightcornerofthis
graveyard:crossthestileandproceedalongthegreenlane.
Ignorethe irstpathenteringfromtheleft-handsidejustbefore
anelectricitypylon.Alittlefurtheronata ieldgate,turnleft.
Followthepathdownthesideofthe ield,keepingthehedge
onyourright.Atthebottomturnrightandfollowthepath,pass
throughasqueezestileontoCloughLane.Turnright,passa
housecalled‘Wheat ields’andgoforwardpastthecemetery.On
reachingTriangleFarmontheleft,crosstheroadcarefullyand
godowntheunmadelane.(Thisisabridlewayknownas
BullaceTreesLaneandismarkedwithbluearrows.)Keeping
onthelanegoforwardpassingthroughtwogreen ieldgates
untilthechurchinRoberttownisreached.
Turnleft,crossChurchRoadcarefullyandoppositethe
CommunityCentre(justbeforeRoberttownGrange)turnright
downSchoolStreet.OnreachingRoberttownLane,turnright
andwalkdowntotheStarInn. (Theplaqueplacedhereby
theSpenValleyCivicSocietytellsthepartthepubplayedinthe
historyoftheLuddites.)
AttheStarInnturnrightalongCommonsideuntilapublic
cousin-ElizabethdeStainton,
theprioressofKirkleesPriory.
HoweverherparamourSir
RogerdeDoncasterwished
Robindeadandpersuaded
Elizabethtolethimbleedto
death.AsRobinapproached
deathhesummonedLittle
Johnandaskedforhislong
bow.Heshotanarrowand
askedthathebeburiedwhere
itlanded.Robin’sgraveis
amiletothenorth-westof
theThreeNunsinprivately
ownedwoodland.
Hisepitaphreads:
‘Hereunderneaththislittlestone
LiesRobert,EarlofHuntingdon
Noarcherashewassogood
AndpeoplecalledhimRobinHood
Suchoutlawsasheandhismen
Englandwillneverseeagain.
Died24December1247’
StPeter’sChurch.
Hartshead
ThoughttobeofSaxonorigin
thechurchwas.rebuiltin
1180.Between1811and
1815thecurateatHartshead
wastheRev.PatrickBrontë,
fatherofthefamousBrontë
sisters.Helodgedatthe
nearby‘LousyThorn’farm,
nowcalled‘ThornBush’farm.
Itissaidthatonthenightof
11/12thApril1812heheard
thesoundoftheLudditesas
theypassedontheirwayto
Cartright’sMill.
Friends’BurialGround.
Friends,otherwiseknownas
Quakers,donotpractisethe
riteofbaptismbywater.In
the17thCenturythismeant
thatQuakerscouldnotbe
buriedinconsecratedground.
Sotheyestablishedtheirown
burialsite.
BullaceTreesLane.
Thebullaceisanediblefruit
similartoadamson.Trees
bearingthisfruitstillgrowhere
ontheleftafterTriangleFarm.
footpathsignisreachedbeforetheschool.Turnleftthrougha
squeezestile,andfollowthepaththroughasecondstileandpass
intoa ield.Keepingthehedgeontheleft,passasmallwoodand
gothroughathirdstile,continuingwiththefencetotheright,to
afourthstileatProspectRoad.
Crossthestile,turnleftandfollowProspectRoad,passingthe
Hartsheadclub/pubonyourright.AtthebottomcrossFallLane
carefully,passthroughthestileandgostraightaheadacrossthe
ield,passingbetweentwoveryoldstonegateposts.Continue
forwardtoanuprightstonepillar.Atthispillarturnleftandwalk
downahiddengreenlane.Attheendofthelanepassthrough
astileandfollowaboardwalkovermarshygrounduntilabank
withstepsisreachedonthelefthandside.
Goupthesteps,emergingonHartsheadHallLane.Turnright
andfollowtheroad,pastHartcliffstudfarmandHartshead
Hall,toa ieldgateimmediatelyahead.Passthroughthegap
betweenthegateandthewallandfollowthepath,keepingthe
woodontheleft-handside.Attheendofthewoodthereare
threepaths.Takethecentreonegoingoverastileandfollowthe
pathwhichcrossesthe ielddowntoanothersmallwoodwhere
therearetwostiles.Continueforwardacrossthe ieldtowards
marshyBrookShroggwhichisagaincrossedonaboardwalk,
followedbyastileandafootbridge.Followthepath,emergingon
totheA62.TurnrightandgodownhilltotheThreeNuns,backto
thestartingpoint
St.Peter’sChurch
Friend’sBurialGround
StarInn
Wewishtothankthefollowingpeopleand
organisationswhoseassistanceenabledtheLuddite
Trailtobecomeareality.
KirkleesM.C.
KirkleesCountrysideVolunteers.
TrustforCommunityVolunteers.
SpenValleyCivicSociety.
ThetrailguidesarepublishedbySpenValleyCivicSocietyandprinted
withfundingfromtheLiversedgewardCommunityDevelopmentFund
Allportionsofthetextarecopyrightfreeandmaybefreelycopied.Copiesof
theguidein.PDFformatmaybedownloadedfromtheSpenValleyCivicSociety
website:www.svcs.org.uk
Compilersandeditors:ChristineandPaulHorbury-2015
LousyThornFarm
TheLudditeTrailPart1
WhoweretheLuddites.
Ludditeswereworkingmen
whowerefearfulwhentheir
livelihoodwasthreatened
bytheintroductionof
machines.TheLudditesafter
whomtheLudditeTrailsare
named,weremainlylocal
croppers.
TheLudditeTrailcomprisestwopartswhichtogether
commemoratetheroutetakenbytheLudditemarchersfrom
theDumbSteepletoCartwright’sMillatRawfolds,Liversedge,
onthenight11/12April1812.Thetraildescriptionalso
notesotherfeaturesofinterestalongtheroute.Thetrailcan
befollowedbyanyreasonably itpersonandprovidesan
introductiontosomeofthehistoryandgeographyoftheSpen
Valley.
Start:
Handshearingofun inished
woollenclothrequiredhuge
skillandthecropperwas
Distance&
oneofthehighest-paidof
Time
allthetextilecraftspeople.
GR.&PostCroppersusedenormous,
code:
heavyshearsonthewoven
cloth,whichhadpreviously Parking:
haditsnapraised,and
shearedittoproducea ine
BusService:
inish.
Amachinecalledacropping Terrain:
framecouldreplacefour
handcroppers.Forsome
Refreshthismeantunemployment,
ments:
povertyandstarvation.
Finding
yourway:
A62
Acroppingframe,hated
bythecroppers
OnthefootwayoutsidetheThreeNunsPub,Leeds
Road,Mir ield(A62).Thetrailcanbestarted
anywherebutfollowitinaclockwisedirection.
5miles(8km).Allow2hr30minutes.
SE181211,WF140BY.
Nearbyparkingisdif icult.Beforeparkinginthe
ThreeNunscarparkpleaseseekpermission.
Buses202,203,220,229&278allpassnearby.
Stoutfootwearisrecommendedassomepaths
canbemuddyattimes.
ThreeNunsPubandStarbucksnearthestart,
theGrayOx,Hartshead,HartsheadSocialClub,
theNewInnandtheStarInninRoberttown.
i)AcopyoftheOrdnanceSurveymapExplorer
288.(Optional.)
ii)Aon-line.gpx ileisavailableforthose
walkerswhohaveOrdnanceSurveymapsin
electronicform.
iii)Thetrailiswaymarkedusingdiscs.
NoteonthedesignoftheWaymarkingdiscs.
TURNLEFT
A644
A644
©CROWNCOPYRIGHTAND/ORDATABASERIGHT.ALLRIGHTSRESERVED.LICENCENUMBER100056570.MAY2015
DumbSteeple
STRAIGHTON
TURNRIGHT
Theimageonthediscrepresentstwocrossedsledgehammers,
calledEnochs.ThesewerecarriedbytheLudditehammermen
tosmashthehatedcroppingframes.Thehammerswere
manufacturedbyEnoch&JamesTaylorofMarsdenwhoalsomade
thecroppingframes.
‘Enochdidmake‘em,andEnochshallbreak‘em’