IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
Prospect Road, HUDDERSFIELD, HD3 4UZ

These allotments are essential to allow people with the small gardens that houses have around here to grow their own produce if they wish to. However these allotments are threatened by development in an already densely built-up area. The houses at the top are called Back o' th'Ing for some reason - I thought ings were flat areas next to rivers. What looks like a disused chapel is the Mechanics Hall.

This is where a bridleway goes down to Grove Street. An old shop-front can just be seen on the right.

A smart new entrance in stonework replaces the rather dilapidated wooden structure that I remember from my early years in Longwood (see Humphrey Burton's pic). My mother and stepfather were caretakers for a number of years in 1950s/60s before moving to Rock Street. Their two-storey dwelling (one of two originally) located at the lower level rear and overlooking the allotments is now bricked up and unused for a dwelling. The highlight of the year was the annual concert by the Longwood Amateur Operatic Society. The seemingly interminable rehearsals beforehand dinned every song into my head as firmly as for the cast. I was word perfect in my time with such shows as 'The Desert Song', "No,No Nanette', etc. They were big rivals of the other local group The Lindley AOS.

This name is carved in stone, with the date 1881 (or 1887?), so presumably it was built as a lodging house with rooms that would now be called bed-sits.

Most of these are now used for other purposes, but this still seems to be a meeting hall. The porch is quite a period piece, perhaps added in the early 20C?. The date carved in stone on the gable is 1858.

This proudly carries the date 1927, and in ghostly letters 'Bentley and Shaw'. Bentley and Shaw’s Brewery was at Lockwood, and had its own spa well known as Horse Bank Well. They were taken over by Hammonds in 1944.

The view opens out here, as the mill buildings that were on the right have been demolished and replaced by houses set well back.

At one time each house would have had a front garden with a driveway entered from the road. This is better in that children can play safely on the shared drive.

This mill has now been demolished. The chimney was one of several visible in the Longwood area and I believe there's only one left now (Parkwood Mills).