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CROWN &

The Role of the Monarchy in

Yorkshire

An exhibition by University of Huddersfield 2nd Year

History Students

COUNTY

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The Role of the Monarchy in Yorkshire

‘Crown and County is a collaborative exhibition devised in partnership between Colne Valley Museum and University of Huddersfield 2nd year students studying ‘Hands-on History’.

The exhibition aims to show the ongoing relationship between Yorkshire and the monarchy, exploring the different facets of the changing face of the monarchy and the impact at a local level within the county, focusing in particular on the following themes:

• World War II, the monarchy and Huddersfield • Living history • Commemoration - a display of objects and memorabilia • Royal visits and local reactions

As part of the display there is a timeline of events, information regarding a number of royalty themed events from the area’s past, as well as an activities sheet for you to enjoy.

Thank you for visiting the exhibition.

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The Legend of Cartimandua

Queen Cartimandua ruled the Brigantes, an iron age tribe. She is the first known hereditary queen anywhere in Britain. Her Celtic name means ‘sleek pony’. She ruled a large area of land stretching between Scotland and Derbyshire.

When the Romans began to conquer Britain in AD43, Cartimandua had been queen for some time. As the Romans came north, she realized the value of an alliance to protect her people and her rule from the ravages of a war. Queen Cartimandua profited from the alliance, as later she inhabited a magnificent Roman palace at Stanwick, North Yorkshire. Archaeological finds from the site show the high status of the Brigantian queen.

Trouble, however, was not far away. Following his defeat at the hands of the Romans in AD51, King Caratacus of the Catuvellauni sought refuge with the Brigantes. Fearing the wrath of the Romans, Cartimandua had him clapped in irons and as local legend has it, handed him over to the Romans in the shadow of Huddersfield’s Almondbury hill fort.

Cartimandua divorced her husband Venutius, who instigated a rebellion against her. This was crushed with the aid of the Romans. Some years later, the Queen again, provoking her ex-husband to lead another uprising, in AD71. Cartimandua had to be rescued by the Romans. Venutius met the Romans in battle on the Vale of York and was decisively

defeated, leaving Cartimandua and the Brigantes to become assimilated into the Roman Empire in AD74.

Cartimandua hands over King Caratacus to the Romans by Richard Bell

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Plantagenets or Tudors?The Changing Loyalties of the

Saviles

The Savile family have been associated with the Colne Valley for many generations. In 1225, Henry de Seyvil was licensed to found a chantry in the chapel at Golcar. During the fourteenth century their lands expanded to include the manors of Elland, Marsden and Brighouse. Sir Thomas Savile had been named as ‘Knight of the Shire’ in 1442 starting a family tradition of serving the monarchy.

Dabbling in politics, the Saviles became ardent supporters of the Yorkists during the Wars of the Roses from 1455 to 1485. However the Battle of Wakefield in 1460 was a disaster for the Yorkists. With the death of the Duke of York, with, his eldest son Edward, took over the leadership of the faction.

Effigy of Sir Thomas Savile in Thornhill

When Edward IV returned to England in 1471, he landed at Ravenspur in East Yorkshire to a lukewarm reception. When Edward arrived in West Yorkshire, the Saviles managed to stay at a distance somewhat displeasing the Monarch.

‘passing through the Savile area of influence, came some folk unto him, but not so many as he supposed would have come.’

After the Battle of Bosworth in 1485, when Henry Tudor seized the crown, Sir John Savile was one of the first of the Yorkshire gentry to make his peace with the new king. This change of loyalties was to prove advantageous to the family. When Henry VII attended Yorkshire to quell disturbances in April 1486, Savile attended his person and was appointed to the king’s household.

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The Civil Wars of the Stuarts 1642 Charles I Reviews His

Yorkshire Army

Prior to the outbreak of the English Civil War, King Charles I issued a warrant to the gentry of Yorkshire ‘to attend him in arms’. Responding to this, Lord William Savile formed a unit of cavalry from those of his tenants who could afford horses. He organised the mustering of royalist troops, inviting the king to review them in Yorkshire. Accepting the invitation, Charles sent forward his great seal which arrived in York on 17 May 1642. Meanwhile, Parliament ordered all the county sheriffs to prevent any gatherings of royalist soldiers but in total defiance of this order, Charles I reviewed his Yorkshire troops on Heworth Moor, near York, on 3 June 1642. For this action, Savile was declared to be a ‘public enemy’ by Parliament, which began to raise its own army.

Interestingly, despite his influence in West Yorkshire,Savile only managed to recruit the gentry into his ‘Regiment of Horse’. In contrast, the people of the Huddersfield area, particularly those in the Colne Valley and Almondbury, formed companies of foot soldiers in the parliamentary army of Sir Thomas Fairfax. They fought against the king’s forces at the storming of Bradford, Leeds, Wakefield and the bloody battle of Adwalton Moor in 1643.

Queen Henrietta-Maria brought arms and ammunition into Yorkshire from France, via the port of Bridlington to equip the King’s Army. While she was in Yorkshire, she came under Parliamentary cannon fire and took refuge in a ditch; her letter to the King describes the experience;

‘The balls were whistling upon me in such style that you may easily believe I loved not such music’

In spite of his best efforts, Charles I lost the Civil War and was executed on 30 January 1649, leading to a period where England had no monarchy until the restoration of his son, Charles II in 1660.

The crest of Sir William Savile

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Stuarts or Hanoverians? The Jacobite Uprising 1745

In September 1745, the Hanoverian King George II appeared to be in complete control of the country. However, backed by French money, Prince Charles Edward Stuart (Bonnie Prince Charlie) landed in Scotland, gathered the highland clans and marched south to invade England, intent on re-gaining the throne for the Stuarts.

As his army progressed southwards, to the west of the Pennine hills, panic began to spread. A local diarist, Jessup wrote:

‘They are in a terrible consternation in Huddersfield, Holmfirth, Wooldale, Scholes and all places hereabouts’

When Prince Charlie appeared briefly with his cavalry on the old Blackstone Edge Roman road, great alarm led to the merchants of Huddersfield and Halifax fleeing the towns for York, where every available carriage was hired by the wealthy to make good their escape. Local writer Smith provides some sense of the panic:

‘People run about the streets crying “We are ruined!”’

As it was, heavy snow fell on the hills and the Prince decided to lead his army through Manchester and on to Derby. It was here on 6 December 1745 that the decision was made to turn around and head back to Scotland where the whole affair was settled at the Battle of Culloden on 16 April 1746.

The Hanoverian monarchy sat firmly on the throne, they have reigned over Britain ever since.

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Offices of State

Upon a state visit members of the royal family are often accompanied by people who hold offices of state, such as lord lieutenants, high sheriffs and mayors. These positions now mostly ceremonial often date back hundreds years and are steeped in the pageantry of England’s heritage.

The office of Lord Lieutenant of west Yorkshire

The office of lord lieutenant can trace its origins back to the Tudor period. In the 1540s Henry VIII commissioned lieutenancy to a number of his noble men, in order that they could raise and command local militia in times of crisis.

Since 1660 there were twenty eight lord-lieutenants of the West Riding until 1970 when the title changed to West Yorkshire. Up until this point all the incumbents had been from aristocratic families until in 1970 the industrialist, Kenneth Hargreaves became the last lord-lieutenant of the West Riding and the first of West Yorkshire.

The office of High sheriff of West Yorkshire

The office of high sheriff dates from Saxon times and is the oldest secular office in England after that of the crown. The word derives from ‘the shire reeve’. Sheriffs were the principle representative of the crown within the shire, having the authority to collect taxes, preside over legal matters as well as policing matters within the region, able to call upon the full power of the shire in service of the crown. However by the late 19th century the powers of the sheriff have been lessened and the position is now one of mostly ceremonial duties.

The current lord lieutenant attending at the Queen’s visit to Huddersfield university in 2007.

High Sheriff, Sir John Hotham, first baronet who was Sheriff of Yorkshire

1634-35

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Offices of State

The Rt. reverend bishop of Wakefield

The office of bishop of Wakefield has been in existence since 1888 when the parish church of all saints in Wakefield was elevated to cathedral status. The church was first built in Norman times but was rebuilt in 1329 and further work carried out in 1470.The diocese covers the south west of Yorkshire, to which Huddersfield now belongs. It has been the duty of many who have held this title to attended royal visits within the diocese.

. The current Bishop of Wakefield, The Rt. Reverend Stephen Platten was present at the Queen’s visit to

Huddersfield in 2007

The Mayor of Dewsbury greeting King George V and Queen Mary in 1912

mayors The first mayor of Huddersfield was Mr. Charles Henry Jones who took office in 1868 when the town first became a municipal borough. The office is only held for one year and the office is now mostly a ceremonial one. One remaining right is that they still retain precedence in all places in the district, but not so as to prejudicially affect her majesty’s royal prerogative.

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The Grand Opening of Leeds Civic Hall 1933

The hall was opened by King George V on the 23 August 1933.

Leeds Civic Hall was designed by Vincent Harris and cost £360, 000 to build. Harris had previously designed the Sheffield City Hall. The building moved the Lord Mayor, the City Treasurer and the City Council away from the Victorian Town Hall and was described as having a ‘a lack of imagination. ‘

The Times believed Leeds’ management was unorganised and cramped. To answer their need of space and order, Vincent Harris made the most of the available space when designing the Civic Hall, sacrificing extravagance and formality.

After the opening ceremony, the building’s front door key went missing. It was returned some 60 years later by a New Zealand couple who found the key in their late father’s property.

The Mayor of Dewsbury greeting King George V and Queen Mary in 1912

Large crowd followed the royal procession to the Leeds Civic Hall. Lifeguards led the carriage on horseback. This photo was taken by Jesse Schofield, a tram conductress who worked for Leeds City Tramways.

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Princess Mary Visits Leeds

Princess Mary, the Princess Royal, accompanied by Lady Harewood, visited the home craft training centre in Hunslet Leeds, in October 1922. The Centre was attached to the T.F. Braime & Co works, known today as Braime Pressings.

After talking to the young ladies, inspecting their needlework, Princess Mary visited the kitchens where she was presented a cake which held the iced message:

‘Presented to our dear Princess with much love and loyalty.’

A girl called Jennie Wilson spoke to the Princess. She was a poet and had several pieces published, amusing the princess by adding:

‘Mother is not very keen on my poems’

Princess Mary, accompanied by Miss York, opened the YWCA in Leeds on 20 November 1924. She was greeted by thousands of people and over 600 Girl Guides. The opening was also attended by the Mayor and Mayoress of Leeds, Mr & Mrs C.G. Gibson, & the YWCA president, Mrs F.J. Kitson.

Princess Mary was presented a large box of chocolates, decorated by a student of the Leeds School of Art, which weighed over 7lb, and a bouquet of lilies and violets. She was very interested in the building’s kitchen, which held every modern improvement.

The entrance to T.F. Braime & Co works, taken in 2009

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World War Heroes From West Yorkshire

Charles Harry Coverdale

Sgt Coverdale was awarded the Victoria Cross by King George V for bravery on the 8 December 1917.

Charles Harry Coverdale was born on the 21 April 1888 and died on the 20 November 1955. While Coverdale was born in Manchester, he lived most of his life in Huddersfield and is buried in Edgerton Cemetery, Huddersfield.

Coverdale joined the Manchester Regiment at the outbreak of war in 1914. He served for the 11th Manchester Regiment on the Western Front in France, later being promoted to the rank of sergeant due to outstanding leadership.

His award of the Victoria Cross came in 1917 at the Battle of Poelcapelle in Belgium. On the 4 October 1917 his Battalion came under attack from a German regiment, Coverdale led his

battalion to overcome two machine gun positions, killing or wounding the machine gun teams.

After attempting to take another enemy position his battalion came under serious counter attack from the enemy. Using his leadership skills he organised his troops into a retreat one by one and only after the last soldier was safe did Coverdale retreat himself.

After surviving the war he became a civil engineer for Joseph Lumb & Sons of Folly Hall Mill in Huddersfield, and served as an officer for the Home Guard during World War Two.

Charles Harry Coverdale died in Huddersfield in 1955, a war hero.

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World War Heroes From West Yorkshire

Hanson Victor Turner

Hanson Victor Turner was awarded a Victoria Cross after his death by King George VI due to his heroic bravery and leadership qualities shown during the Second World War.

Turner was born on 17 July 1910 and died on 7 June 1944.

He was a bus conductor on the Savile park route in Halifax before the outbreak of war in 1939 led him join the West Yorkshire Regiment in 1940.

Turner was awarded the Victoria Cross in 1944 because of his actions during a Japanese attack in Burma. Acting Sergeant Turner saw that three of his four machine guns had been destroyed and was forced to retreat. Expertly reorganising his platoon he arranged a defensive position. However it was his next

action of heroism that gained him the honour of a Victoria Cross

Realising that his platoon was being outflanked Turner had to make a drastic decision. Charging alone towards the enemy he threw countless grenades. After running out of grenades he was forced to go back to the platoon for more. After doing this five more times he was gunned down by a Japanese rifle, ending his heroic stand.

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Royal Visits: Local Reactions

Queen Elizabeth II is highly respected, and an icon within society, which is why people travel so far to see her. But how do local people feel about her?

June Stephenson is from Batley, and has seen the Queen several times. In fact, when June went to see her in Heckmondwike, Queen Elizabeth shook her hand, and asked her if she had travelled far to be there. She said the queen also began to lose her voice as she had been talking to so many people. She also went to Dewsbury when she was just 12 years old to see the Queen when she visited in 1953.

June said that everyone was in awe of her, and that she could not believe the moment she saw her. She also said she could have stayed home and watched the visit on television but the atmosphere was incredible, and that is she would have missed simply by watching TV. Meeting the queen made June proud to be British, she says.

Did You Know?

A royal visit doesn’t always gain the best reaction from everyone. During Queen Elizabeth II visit to Huddersfield in 2007, to open the media centre, hundreds of people arrived to greet her. Amongst them was a man who was arrested, as he was pushing through the crowd carrying an axe. He claimed he was trying to take a picture of the Queen, but the court did not believe him and he was jailed for 6 years.

June Stephenson ‘so excited I was spellbound.’

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Material Culture

For almost 350 years people have been making and collecting china, glass, metal, paper and more recently, plastic items that mark events such as weddings in the British royal family.

Since the 17th century souvenirs commemorating major royal events have been made and collected. Coronations, weddings, births, anniversaries, jubilees and other special events have been the subject of thousands of objects of memorabilia created by commercial businesses and collected by millions of royal subjects and fans.

The range of items made and collected by people range from plates, mugs dishes and other chinaware to spoons, glasses and tea towels and items of jewellery. For example the most popular collectible commemorating the marriage of George, Duke of York and Lady Elizabeth Bowes Lyon in 1923 was a tin of chocolates.

The first royal collectable was in 1660 and was to commemorate the restoration of Charles II. This event was so popular and important that potters created commemorative cups and plates as permanent souvenirs that royalists could purchase and display in their homes.

How many royal souvenirs does your family have?

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The changing face of the Royal mug

The coronation of King George VI which took place on 12 May 1937 was commemorated with the royal mug to the right. This particular mug belongs to Patricia Burrows of Thornhill. She was given the mug by her sister Margaret, who was given it St John Primary School in Dewsbury, where she was a pupil. The mug features the words ‘Dieu Et Mon Droit’ which means ‘God and my right.’ Although this is French it has been used as the motto for the British Monarch since the reign of King Henry V in the 15th century.

King George VI Coronation 1937

Queen Elizabeth Coronation 1953

The coronation of Queen Elizabeth II took place on 2 June 1953. This new style of mug was presented to Patricia Burrows while she was attending St John Fisher high school, also in Dewsbury. The mug shown is unique to Dewsbury as it features the towns coat of arms on the reverse side. The new style of mug used for this coronation suggested the optimism of Britain in the 1950s. It was hoped that Britain was entering a ‘new Elizabethan age.’ Later mugs have reverted to a more traditional style.

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Local Reaction to Royal Visits

Keith Laybourn, who is professor of history at the University of Huddersfield has had a number of experiences with the Queen.

He first saw her in 1953, when he was only seven years old. He walked two and a half miles with his family to wave at her as she passed by through Wombwell, Barnsley, on her tour of the country after the coronation.

There were also coronation celebrations at the local park with entertaining games like tug-of-war. Additionally, as a community, they raised money so everyone could have a coronation mug.

Keith then met her properly, and quite jovially, by accident in 1970. Her Majesty visited Lancaster University. There were student protesters outside, and the Queen was being protected within the library building. Keith had been in the library in a dark room looking at microfilm for about four hours. When he stumbled out, trying to let his eyes adjust to the light, he was about 4 feet away from Queen Elizabeth. Thought to have been a protester though, he was speedily removed.

Keith’s encounters with the Queen were definitely memorable, so much so he could remember specific details from being only seven years old. Even though he is not particularly a royalist, they are events he will never forget.

Professor Laybourn, wielding a 16th century sword.

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The Queen Opens Scammonden Dam 1971

On Thursday 14 October 1971 the royal train arrived at Huddersfield station. Her Majesty transferred to a ten car convoy to travel up the new M62 motorway to the moorland hills between Huddersfield and Rochdale. She was here to officially open the new motorway and the massive Scammonden Dam which it crossed. Impressed by the scale of construction, the Queen said:

‘I am very glad to be here this afternoon to commemorate the completion of the Scammonden

Dam and Reservoir. To construct a dam on this scale is a fine achievement; to build

a motorway across it at the same time is remarkable. It is an outstanding feat of engineering … I congratulate all thosewho have worked so hard to bring this outstanding project to a

successful conclusion.’

The Queen spent more time than had been set aside for her visit as she looked at plans and a scale model of the area. Today the Scammonden Dam attracts many visitors, particularly walkers and bird-watchers.

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The Queen’s Visit 2007

The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh visited the University of Huddersfield as part of an extended visit to West Yorkshire. While at the university, they attended the opening of the Creative Arts building and had lunch in the Castle Hill suite .

The Queen is welcomed by vice-chancellor Professor Bob Cryan

The Queen unveils the foundation stone of the new Creative Arts building.

The civic lunch was held in the castle hill suite for about 70 guests. The meal and decorations were provided by

the Mumtaz group.

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Acknowledgements

Special thanks to:

The Colne Valley Museum, the BBC, the Bishopric of Wakefield, British Pathé, Heritage Lottery Fund, Janette Martin, Lynn Free, The High Sheriffs’ Association of England & Wales, Learning Outside the Classroom, Kirklees Image Archive, Museums Libraries and Archives Council, The Northern Echo, Paul Ward, Richard Bell, The Sandford Award, and the University of Huddersfield.

The 2nd year History students at the University of Huddersfield involved in producing this exhibition were:

Christine Cameron, Mike Kirby, Marion Todd, Chris, Brooks, Stephanie Watkins, Thomas Burrows, Chris Wood, John Matthews, Sophie Lawson, Vikki Bielby, Nathan Shaw, James Cook, Hayley Saunders, Joshua Flint, Jonny Ellis, Jamie Fulton.

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