Oakenshaw, West Yorkshire
Oakenshaw maps
Historic maps of Oakenshaw and the local area, hand-drawn by Ordnance Survey and Samuel Lewis. View all Oakenshaw maps
Oakenshaw photos
We have no photos of Oakenshaw, although we do have photos of these nearby places: Cleckheaton, TongOakenshaw books
Displaying 3 of 23 books about Oakenshaw and the local area. View all Oakenshaw books
You can read extracts and browse photos from these books.
Memories of Oakenshaw
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West Yorkshire memories
My uncle and aunt, Frank and Lilian Simpson (nee Wilson)used to live over looking the Spen Valley in a terraced house on a hill at the bottom of which was Rawfolds Mill. Is the photo H199022 this road and is the wall on left the entrance to the terrace houses? If not, is there a map showing this terrace,... [more]
Shared on 11 October 2009
Yes, that's the name we gave them later on in our youth. No one did fish and chips like Mr Buttler and his wife, only costing a few pence to my knowledge. We used to put loads of salt and vinigar on. Then this loud voice would say 'That's enough lads, off you go' . Buttlers even became a hang-out place... [more]
Shared on 30 May 2008
At the time we lived near Coley church, mum, dad, sister June, brother Paul and me, Steven. I remember moving up to Burnley Hill Terrace near the Duke of York on a horse and cart. I didn't realise then but it was our first house with a bathroom, it must of been heaven for mum and dad not having to get... [more]
Shared on 29 May 2008
I remember walking all the way down Manchester Road to St Joseph's Infant School, which at that time was on Grafton Street and part of the Girls School, it seemed to take ages, we walked past all the pubs and shops a real hive of activity. There were 40 pubs on Manchester Road and a brewery!
I then moved to St... [more]
Shared on 29 August 2009
Extracts From Oakenshaw & West Yorkshire books
Displaying a selection of extracts from Frith books about Oakenshaw, inspired by Frith photos.
Just south of the abbey's cliffs lie these rocks, which show the inroads made by the alum mining industry during the previous centuries. Before the chemists discovered a simpler method of fixing the dyes used in cloth manufacturing, alum was successfully used for this purpose. It had first to be extracted from rich mineral-bearing stone. This was mined locally both at Saltwick and Sandsend, and... [more]
Read more and see photos from this book.
The railway line continues past the houses and the stone bridge of East Row, whilst the flow from the beck makes a tempting paddling pool. Bathing machines were still in use at this time, as we see on the right.
Read more and see photos from this book.
Nestling in the shelter of Lythe Bank, the ancient village holds the homes of many of the men who worked in the alum industry and on local estates. Alum was a chemical used in tanning leather and in the dyeworks to fix the dye used in the weaving industry. It was mined and extracted from local stone in the Whitby district,... [more]
Read more and see photos from this book.

