ARCHIVES

‘We need our witnesses and archivists to say we lived, we died, we made this difference.
Where death means nothing, life is meaningless’.

From The Undertaking: Life Studies from the Dismal Trade by Thomas Lynch (1977)

‘To be ignorant of what occurred before you were born is to remain always a child.
For what is the worth of human life, unless it is woven into the life of our ancestors by the records of history?’

Marcus Tullius Cicero (106 BC-43 BC)

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Wainsgate’s historic documents, photographs and artefacts are mostly kept in the Hebden Bridge Local History Society archive at Birchcliffe or the West Yorkshire Archive Service archive at Halifax library. Some items are kept at Wainsgate (including framed photographs of ministers and Sunday school teachers, framed photographs of men who died in WW1, and the 1905 graveyard plan) and some items are still in the possession of the Historic Chapels Trust (mostly leases, conveyances, agreements and other legal documents).

The document below lists all of the documents, photographs, pictures, plans and artefacts that make up Wainsgate’s archive, together with their whereabouts:

Download Wainsgate Archive details

There are some documents which seem to have disappeared, particularly Burial Certificates, Cremation Certificates and Coroner’s Orders for the period (up to 2005) when the graveyard was administered by the Baptist Church. It is believed that these were removed from the safe at Wainsgate when ownership passed to Historic Chapels Trust, but their current whereabouts is unknown.

The documents reproduced and transcribed below are those of particular relevance to the burial ground:

GRAVEYARD PLANS

BURIAL REGISTERS

GRAVE RECEIPT BOOKS

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GRAVEYARD PLANS

Photographs of and information about the 1849 graveyard plans, 1875 graveyard plan and 1905 graveyard plan can be seen here.

BURIAL REGISTERS

A register of church members in the WYAS archive at Halifax (WYC: 1897/2) contains details of some of the earliest burials at Wainsgate. The transcription below retains as much as possible the spelling and punctuation of the original document: entries which are uncertain are shown in brackets.

Pages of Register of Members (WYC:1897/2) showing records of first burials at Wainsgate.

As the Burying Place belonging (……?) Meeting Place at Wains-Gate was Purchased by way of Lease-hold in the Year 1762, and in the Year 1763 the Writings was Seal’d & deliver’d, we thought propper to keep a regular Regester of all the persons that have been there interred, in the following form and order –

In the Year 1762 was Buried –
1) Martha Whitaker was Buried April 7^th:
2) Abraham Whitaker was Buried April 20^th: from Bent-head
3) Mary Ashworth was Buried July 4

In the Year 1763 was Buried –
4) Mr Richard Smith, late Pastor of the Church at Wainsgate died Aug 24 and was buried 27. 1763
5) John the Son of John Wadsworth at Wainsgate, buried       1764. About five days old.
6) Hannah the Daughter of John Wadsworth of Wainsgate buried July 13. 1764. Aged 3 Years and some months.
7) Nathan the Son of John Whitaker at Crimsworth Buried,       1764. Aged 16. 8 yards from the far wall to the middle of the grave, & 3 yds and one foot from the top wall to the head of the grave
8) Olive the Daughter of (Jonathan?) Suttcliff at Mould-Grain, buried Decem. 27. 1764, 5 yds and a half from far wall & the same from the (tops?)
9) Mary the Daughter of John Wadsworth at Wains-Gate, buried April 18. 1765. Aged     Nigh two yards from the top wall, and seven from the near wall.
10) Susanna the Wife of (…..?) Greenwood at Handibut Hill, buried, June 21. 1765. Two yards and a half from the top, and two foot from the far wall.
11) Emanuell Redman died May 20 Buried May 23 who when he was a live lived at Handibut Hill (1787?)       Entry has been partly crossed out.
12) Emanuell Redman Delf End died May 20 buried May 23 1778 Aged (…?)

John Tatham Shawcroft was buried at Wainsgate Jany 28^th 1787.
John Redman Chappel-Green was buried April 8^th 1787
Abraham Akroyd Lingbob was buried June 8^th 1787
John (Alderson?) Luddendendein was buried June 26 1787
Isaac (Sladden?) Pecketwell was buried Aug 15^th 1787
Wm (Alderson?) Luddendendein was buried Aug 7^th 1787
Mary Stansfield of Shackleton was buried Dec (18^th?) 1801
Martha Horsfall of Mount was buried (Decebr?) 20^th 1801
(indistinct entry, possibly Henry Horsfall?)
Grace Whitaker buried 1833
Simon Whitaker buried 1838.

An account book in the Birchcliffe Archive (R / WAI 5S) contains a list of 30 burials from 1788 to 1800: The transcription below retains as much as possible the spelling and punctuation of the original document: entries which are uncertain are shown in brackets.

Pages of account book (R / WAI 5S) showing records of early burials at Wainsgate.

Burials

Mary Sutcliffe wife of Jonathan Sutcliffe, Midgehole in Wadsworth, parish of Halifax and county of York aged 66. was buried at Wainsgate on January 12. 1788 – by me William Wrathall, Minister
Robert Sutcliffe Spink (?) Hill in Wadsworth aged 14 years was buried at Wainsgate January 25th 1788. A Pauper
Hannah Tatham wife of John Tatham Shaw-croft aged 34 years was buried at Wainsgate October 8th (?) 1788
John Barrett the son of William Barrett was Buried at wainsgate Aug 26. 1789
Jane Wadsworth the wife of John Wadsworth of Wainsgate was buried at Wainsgate Aug 29 (?). 1789
Grace the wife of John Pickles of Smallshaw in Wadsworth was buried at Wainsgate Oct 28. 1789

Daniel(?) Tommas in the parish of Hallifax was buried at Wainsgate in the month of march 1790 Relieved by the parish
Thomas the son of Sarah Parker in the parish of Heptonstall was buried at Wainsgate in the month of march 1790. Relieved by the parish
Betty the daughter of Henry Pickles in the parish of Heptonstal was buried at Wainsgate in the month of April 1790. the 15 day.
William the son of Abram Foster in the parish of Heptonstal was buried at Wainsgate June 2 1790 by me John Parker Dissenting minister
Betty the Daughter of William Tatersal (?) of Stone booth in the parish of Heptonstal and county of York was intered at Wainsgate July 15 1790 by me John Parker Dissenting minister

for the year 1791

Sally the daughter of Robert Ashworth of Crimworth in the parish of Heptonstal and county of york was intered at Wainsgate october 14 1791 aged 3 (?) years by me John Parker Dessenting minister
Elling the wife of William Barret of parrock head in the township of Wadsworth parish of Heptonstal and county of york was intered at Wainsgate Jany 29.1791 by me John Parker Dessenting minister – Relived by the parish –
Mary the Daughter of John Greenwood at old town in the Township of Wadsworth and county of york was intered at Wainsgate April 10 1791 by me John Parker Dessenting minister
John the Son of martha(…..?)Ridman if the town and parish of Heptonstal and county of york was intered at Wainsgate April 22 1791 by me John Parker Dessenting minister

For the year 1792

Richd the son of Jno Smith of Poorprice in Wadsworth was Intered at Wainsgate Dec 21 1791 by me John Parker
Moses Barret of Parokhead in wadsworth was Interred at wainsgate Jan 11 1792 by me me John Parker

Relieved by the parish

Grace Siedgwick the Daughter of John Siedgwick of Blackhill in Wadsworth was Intered at Wainsgate Jan 20 1792 by me – John Parker
Henery Ashworth of Hebdenbridge in Wadsworth Parish of Heptonstall & county of york was Intered at Wainsgate March 28 (?). 1792 by me Jno Parker
Abram(?) the son of Robert Ashworth of Shay Croft hill in Wadsworth was intered 22 of June 1792 at Wainsgate by me John Parker

James Ashworth Son of Henry Ashworth of Heptonbridge in the parish of Heptonstall & county of york was Interred at Wainsgate July 31. 1792 by me Jno Parker

John Wadsworth of Wainsgate in the parish of Heptonstall and County of York was Interred at Wainsgate Feb 7th 1793 by me John Parker
Martha the Wife of John Greenwood of Old Town in Wadsworth, parish of Heptonstall and County of York was Interred at Wainsgate March 10. 1793 by me – John Parker
Still (?) born child of Abraham Foster(?) Wadsworth Banks was Interred at Wainsgate July 6. 93
John the Son of James Pickles of Carrhead in Wadsworth was Interred at Wainsgate Sep. 12. 1793 –

A Son of Isaac Townsend was Interred at wainsgate – Oct 26 – 1793 (?)
Thomas Ashworth Son of Robert Ashworth of Crimsworth in the Parish of Heptonstall & county of York, was Interred at Wainsgate Feb 3rd 1794
John Barret of Tower (?) in Wadsworth & Parish of Heptonstall & County of York was Interred at Wainsgate August 17 1784

Alice(?) theDaughter of John Crabtree of wadsworth (?) in the parish of Halifax in the County of York was inter’d at wainsgate Decbr 13th 1800 by me Isaac Normington
John the Son of John Hargreaves of wadsworth as foresaid was interd at wainsgate Decbr 20th 1800

The main record of burials from 1815 until 2004 (when Wainsgate was transferred to the Historic Chapels Trust) is a large register, now rather dilapidated (R / WAI 52M) which is kept in the Hebden Bridge Local History Society archive at Birchcliffe. It lists most of the burials from 17^th February 1815 (Hannah Bancroft, aged 79) to 25^th October 2004 (Kenneth Crowther, aged 78): a few burials do not seem to have been recorded, and there are no entries for 1900 or 1901. The earlier entries, up to 1878 when George Wilkinson became minister, seem to have been copied into the register from other documents, whereas the later entries appear to have been made at the time of burial.

Most entries give the name of the deceased, their age, residence, date of burial and (from 1878) the name of the minister officiating, and some of the earlier entries give the plot number.

Many of the earlier entries do not give the full names of children and married women: entries such as ‘John Sutcliffe child’, ‘Jonas Bancroft wife’, ‘William Pickles daughter’s child’ are found up until around 1880.

GRAVE RECEIPT BOOKS

Coming soon…..