At Royd Press we want to hear your comments on our books, and especially any extra information or corrections you may have. Local knowledge can be the best guide!
Fabrics, Filth and Fairy Tents: thanks to Arthur Whitehead of Marsh, Huddersfield, for pointing out that Victorian journalist Angus Bethune Reach got a name wrong (page 4) when he says "The town of Huddersfield belongs to one ground landlord - Sir John Marsden." (The mistake appears in the original newspaper report.) This should have read Sir John Ramsden.
Ned Carver in Trouble - Phyllis Bentley. We're trying to find out if the village of Hurstbridge is based on Elland: in the story it is a town a couple of miles from Halifax with a three-arched bridge. When the boys and mill-owner Mr Cartwright drive over the hills to the smith’s forge, they have “a splendid view” of rolling hills, with Hurstbridge in the foreground and Hudley beyond it in the distance. Most of the historical events she refers to actually took place around Cleckheaton and Liversedge. An Elland gentleman confirms the view of Elland in the foreground and Halifax behind, which he says can be seen from the Huddersfield-Halifax bus; and Elland certainly has a three-arched bridge so unless anyone comes up with a different idea, I think we'll assume Hurstbridge is Elland!
The Adventures of Tom Leigh - Phyllis Bentley. The puzzle here is that Phyllis Bentley says several times that the men fixing the cloth to the tenters have to kneel to do so, even when fixing to the top bar. This is also shown in an illustration in her non-fiction book, The Pennine Weaver. This would imply that the tenter rails were set close to the ground (the ones she is talking about have wooden, not stone, posts) - but other sources disagree with this. Any ideas?
Growing Up in Sowerby ... and more - Jean Illingworth. The unidentified structure outside the Star Inn on page 30 is a gents' urinal! Thanks to Colin Wright for this info.