The following studies by Terry Spencer are now available on the Knottingley website:

KNOTTINGLEY CARNIVAL
By the last quarter of the nineteenth century the August Bank Holiday period at Knottingley abounded in fun and frolic with the Feast as the hub of the festivities. The fair was supplemented by community sports and of the sporting element within the town none was more prominent than Knottingley Town Cricket Club.

KNOTTLA FLATTS:
Situated on the southern bank of the River Aire, to the north side of Aire Street, lies Knottingley Flatts. Today, the Flatts occupy only a small portion of the original layout which comprised the greater part of Knottingley Ings.

KNOTTLA FEAST:
The modern image of the fair is one of outdoor entertainment for pleasure seeking people but such a concept is one which has developed over the last two centuries being born as a result of the Industrial Revolution.

HOSPITAL SUNDAYS:
Prior to the establishment of the National Health Service in 1948 local people relied for health care in the event of sickness or serious injury upon charitable institutions such as Pontefract Dispensary and Leeds Infirmary.

KNOTTINGLEY COAT-OF-ARMS:
The application by Knottingley Urban District Council for a grant of arms was made to the College of Arms, London, in mid 1942.

FERRYBRIDGE GLASSWORKS:
That there was a glassworks at Ferrybridge is indisputable for it was both documented and photographed. That it was situated on the north bank of the River Aire "..where the Parish of Brotherton merges into the Parish of Ferrybridge" is confirmed by map reference. The doubt lies not in the existence or location of the furnace but with its origin.

NINETEENTH CENTURY KNOTTINGLEY:
The township of Knottingley, situated three miles north-east of Pontefract in the Wapentake of Osgoldcross, developed from a 6th century Saxon settlement in a forest clearing on the south bank of the river Aire. By the time of the Norman Conquest of 1066 the settlement had acquired the status of a manorial vill

KNOTTINGLEY PLAYING FIELDS:
As the process of industrialisation and urban development gained pace in the second half of the nineteenth century the provision of public spaces such as municipal gardens and parks for the purpose of public recreation and amenity became increasingly desirable.

CAPTAIN PERCY BENTLEY:
Percy Bentley, scion of a prominent Knottingley family, was born in that town on the 18th January 1891, the son of James William and Helena Bentley, and was baptised in the parish church of St. Botolph on the 11th February.

KNOTTINGLEY WAR MEMORIAL:
On Wednesday, 25th September 1918, a committee previously sanctioned by Knottingley Urban District Council in meeting assembled, met in the Council Chamber at Knottingley Town Hall to consider the form of memorial to the men who had fallen during the Great War.

FERRYBRIDGE WAR MEMORIAL:
No less than the citizens of its larger neighbour, the inhabitants of the village of Ferrybridge decided to honour those drawn from the community and slain in the Great War.

THE 'K' SISTERS:
For approximately a decade from the mid 1940's the 'K' Sisters, Marjorie and Pamela Kellett, were prominent throughout the town and district of Knottingley as all-round entertainers who harnessed their talent to providing public enjoyment and in so doing raised large amounts of money for local charities.

THE PALACE CINEMA:
The new cinema, one of the earliest purpose-built picture houses in the country, was situated on an oblique strip of land some 560 square yards in extent, adjacent to Ship Lane at the junction with lower Aire Street. The hall was designed to seat 600 people: 500 in the area and 100 in the balcony.

KNOTTINGLEY PUBLIC HOUSES & BREWERIES:
In 1752, eighteen residents of the township of Knottingley in company with John Mitchell, the Parish Constable, agreed to be bound over in the sum of £10 each to observe the legal and moral obligations attendant upon being granted a licence as an innkeeper.

KNOTTINGLEY TOWN HALL CLOCK:
In the Spring of 1994, the recently deceased and much lamented Edwin Beckett arranged for the installation of a clock at the top of the Town Hall turret. The event was celebrated in verse by Mrs Joyce Bell who concluded her eulogy by stating that her mother, Dolly Lightowler, had always wished to see a clock set in the "bare face" of the Town Hall - a wish which had now come true.

STATUE OF THE BLACK PRINCE:
Awareness of a link between my native Knottingley and the Prince's statue came quite recently when Mrs Shirley Bedford of Knottingley informed me that her great grandfather was the master of a barge which had transported the statue from Hull to Leeds in 1903.

KNOTTLA NICKNAMES:
It was in the course of a recent conversation with Roger Ellis that the subject of nicknames arose, following which, in an idle half-hour, I casually began to compile a list of those I recalled. My list quickly exceeded fifty in number and I was seized by a natural desire to list as many more as I could obtain.

KNOTTINGLEY SILVER BAND:
The origin of Knottingley Band is obscure. In 1980 the Band celebrated its conjectured centenary year, the date being taken from an old letterhead of 1880.  However, a subsequent documentary source has been located which indicates that the genesis of the Band may lie much further in the past.

KNOTTINGLEY TOWN HALL:
The burgeoning spirit of civic pride found practical expression on 29th October 1864, when a group of prominent citizens of the town formed the Knottingley Town Hall & Mechanics’ Institute Company Limited.

FIELD SYSTEMS AND PLACE NAMES OF OLD KNOTTINGLEY:
The purpose of this study is to consider the topography of modern day Knottingley and formulate a theoretical model concerning the development of the settlement during the medieval and post medieval eras as reflected in the field systems adopted.

GAZETTEER OF KNOTTINGLEY PLACE NAMES:
An A-Z listing of Knottingley field and place names.

WAR SAVINGS WEEKS:
Conflict is fuelled by finance so it is unsurprising that following the outbreak of war in 1939, local savings committees were established to encourage people to curb personal expenditure and invest surplus cash in the National War Savings Scheme in order to assist the cost of the war.

SELECT VESTRY RIOTS 1874:
The township of Knottingley became a semi-autonomous parish in 1789 following the ecclesiastical reorganisation of that period but remaining under the patronage of the Vicar of Pontefract until it became an independent parish in 1846

UBIQUITOUS AMBASSADORS

KNOTTINGLEY SILVER BAND

by TERRY SPENCER B.A. (Hons), Ph D.

CHAPTER ONE

CONTENTS | PAGE ONE | PAGE TWO

ORIGINS & EARLY HISTORY: CIRCA 1860 - 1900

The advent of the Glassworks Band appears to have cast something of a shadow over the older ensemble and throughout the 1880s the ‘Glassblowers’ seem to have predominated in events within the town, particularly with regard to appearances at the Infirmary Sunday gatherings. In 1884, Bagley’s Band led the parade through the town with Brotherton Band in the middle and Pontefract Borough Band bringing up the rear, the parade being followed by a concert of sacred music at Grange Field, Hill Top. (22) Again, in 1886, the Glassworks Band, conducted by Mr. John Shaw, gave a concert at Howards Field which included selections of “new music” from ‘The Bohemian Girl’, ‘Art & Nature’, Weber’s ‘Mass’ and the fantasias ‘La Pariselle’, ‘La Val d’Amour’ and ‘Salutation’. (23)

For a decade and a half from 1884, the Glassworks Band participated in the events of Dispensary Sunday, usually in conjunction with brass bands from neighbouring towns such as Pontefract, Castleford, Featherstone and Brotherton and in 1890 with the military band of the Lancashire & Yorkshire Regiment. (24) In addition, in 1895, the Glassworks Band under the direction of Mr. I. Johnson, marched through the town to mark the coming of age of Mr. Ernest B. Bagley, son of William Bagley, one of the founding partners of the firm. The bandsmen were reported to be wearing new uniforms, giving them, “a very fine appearance.” (25)

The uniforms were again on display on Dispensary Sunday 1901, when the Band under John Shaw, marched to the cricket field at Banks Garth with the Brotherton Band, conducted by Mr. T. Hardy, and played selections during the annual demonstration. (26)

The demonstration of 1891 was significant in that both the Knottingley bands appeared together. The usual procession was designed to coincide with the conclusion of a cricket match at the Banks Garth field and a lengthy concert programme had been arranged as evening entertainment. Alas, the rain which rendered inconclusive the match between Knottingley Town and Fairburn threatened throughout the speeches of the attendant dignitaries and came down so heavily shortly after the commencement of the concert that proceedings had to be abandoned after only two choruses and a couple of hymns had been sung. (27)

The re-emergence of the Town Band at the demonstration marked the commencement of an era covering more than half a century during which the name of the Band was to become synonymous with the event so that by the time the establishment of the National Health Service in 1948 made fund raising obsolete, the Band had created an unparalleled attendance record. (28)

Owing to the frequent lack of distinction between the two bands in newspaper reports concerning Infirmary Sundays during the 1890s it is uncertain which ensemble appeared on some occasions. Thus, although it was reported that the “Excellent Town Band performed” in 1894 when the event was undertaken in conjunction with a special cricket match arranged by the Town Cricket Club, (29) it is most likely that the Glassworks Band also appeared on other undefined occasions, the last precise reference being that of 1901.

The ultimate fate of the Glassworks Band is equally as obscure as its origin. In 1908 the Band was named as an entrant in the forthcoming National Brass Band Contest to be held at Crystal Palace, London, but for some unknown reason the Band did not attend the contest. Thereafter the record is silent. (30)

Similarities of identity, size and repertoire between the Town Band and the Glassworks Band decreed that the latter were the principal rivals in terms of ability and prestige. There were, however, other ensembles within the town during the late Victorian period which although by their nature posing a less direct threat to the Town Band vied with it in seeking the physical and financial support of the public. It is noteworthy that music played such a significant part in the social and cultural life of the local populace and commendable that so small a community was able to sustain such a rich and varied musical ethos.

The bulk of the musical organisations, whether vocal or instrumental, were associated with the churches and chapels within the town and it is therefore unsurprising that moral attitudes informed both the social occasions, when music played a part, and also the programmes performed on such occasions. A strict regard for Sabbath keeping on the part of a substantial element of the local population was initially, a divisive feature of Infirmary Sunday with many refusing to support the cause on moral grounds because of the day on which the annual demonstration was held. (31) When religious tokenism weakened to the point of acceptance of charitable demonstrations and public concerts held on the Sabbath, it was nevertheless deemed necessary to emphasise the ‘sacred’ nature and content of such events.

Similarly, ethical and moral considerations underlay the formation of some musical groups. As early as 1865, Knottingley Band of Hope had formed a drum and fife band which participated in local galas and street marches and demonstrations in support of the Temperance Movement. (32)

Another local band of religious origin was the Red Ribbon or Salvation Army Band. The local corps had been established within the town by 1880 and by January 1883, had obtained a plot of land at Carr Lane upon which it was proposed to erect a citadel or barracks. (33) The first Salvation Army band had been established by Charles Fry at Salisbury in August 1878 and by 1881 fourteen others were in existence in various English towns. In 1883, to great public complaint, hundreds of bands were formed by the Salvationists. (34) The band of the Knottingley corps was apparently established at this time for in September 1883 it led a parade round the town culminating in a public address by the local leader, General Bairstow. (35) In August the year following, an entertainment was given in the newly opened barracks with proceeds in aid of the Red Ribbon Band. (36)

The newly established sect were obviously enterprising and obtained the support of a substantial element within the local populace for in 1884 it was revealed that the Red Ribbon Army had collected £200 in the previous twelve months to help offset the debt incurred in building their tabernacle, the Band doubtless playing a prominent part in the religious services and allied functions of the organisation. (37)

Initial goodwill was transformed into open hostility, however, when in 1885 General Bairstow published a pamphlet in which the poor, particularly the Catholic Irish, were referred to in less than flattering terms. As a result riotous scenes occurred in April when a local mob attacked a marching column of Salvationists as, led by the Band, they toured the streets of Knottingley to deliver the gospel message. One William Elerington (sic) drove his horse-drawn mail van through the marching column, an action which resulted in an appearance at the local magistrate’s court the following month. (38) A second, successive hostile demonstration occurred against the Red Ribbon Army when a Knottla mob burnt an effigy of General Bairstow on the Flatts after the local police, with considerable difficulty, had succeeded in keeping the two factions apart. (39)

However, within a short space of time the breach had obviously closed for in August 1889 the ‘Tabernacle’ Band appeared at the Infirmary Sunday demonstration held at Vale Head Field, Hill Top, where in conjunction with one of the unidentified Knottingley bands they “played good selections.”

The appearance is all the more surprising, perhaps, because of an initial decree which prohibited the Salvation Army bands from playing musical compositions other than those of religious nature, largely confining their activity to acts of worship. (40) The Ban may also have participated again in 1895 for a somewhat vague report stated that 2,000 people attended the demonstration at Howards Field;

“to the strains of Knottingley Band under the direction of Captain Kellyn and Sgt. Instructor Howland, accompanied by the Castleford Temperance and Featherstone Brass Bands.” (41)

Given the rank of the bandmaster and his assistant it would suggest that the band from Knottingley was that of the Salvation Army corps rather that either of its secular contemporaries.

It was also in the late 1880s that Knottingley String Band was formed to accompany the town Choral Society. The String Band featured in many social events in the following two decades, including regular appearances at the Infirmary Sunday demonstrations. The earliest report is of;

“a small efficient band led by Mr Chambers of Pontefract”, which accompanied the choir, both groups being under the overall supervision of Mr Archer, who had founded the Choir the previous decade. (42) Interestingly, there is no mention of any brass bands being involved in the proceedings in 1887 which paradoxically was a reversal of the situation three years earlier when it was reported that;

“This year the experiment was a tried of having only an instrumental concert with the Brass Bands of Pontefract Borough, Castleford Primitive Methodists and Knottingley taking part.” (43)

The String Band continued to perform at the Infirmary Sunday demonstrations until well into the twentieth century. In 1903 it accompanied the massed voices in a rendering of Handel’s ‘Hallelujah Chorus’ and the following year played a selection from ‘Rousseau’s Dream’. (44) Indeed, as late as 1912 the string band of the Wesleyan Brotherhood, conducted by Mr. A. Kellet, accompanied the singers but this may have been the final bow for although the voices of the Wesleyan Brotherhood were heard the following year they were accompanied by Knottingley Silver Prize Band and on the eve of the Great War the singers were merely accompanied by a pianist, Mrs Jean Arnold, of the Congregational Church. (45)

If the appearance of the Knottingley Town Band in the events of Infirmary Sunday during the 1880s and early 1890s were rare, its voluntary contribution to local organisations and charities was nevertheless significant. Nor were such contributions confined to local institutions. In May 1896, the Band paraded the streets taking a collection en route for the dependants of the Micklefield Colliery disaster and followed up this effort by playing the same evening to a large assembly of the townspeople gathered on the Flatts. (46) The following month the Band again paraded, marching from the concourse of Knottingley railway station through the thoroughfares of the town collecting money on behalf of the Society of Railway Servants’ Orphanage, an event which was for many years an annual engagement. (47) Again, in July 1896, the Band toured the outlying villages of Beal, Kellington, Whitley and Womersley, raising money on behalf of Pontefract Dispensary. (48) Presumably the distance between the rural communities was undertaken by wagonette, yet even so, to parade through each village on this circular tour represents a considerable feat of endurance and dedication.

It was those very qualities which ensured the survival of the Town Band for amidst the rivalries and the vicissitudes of time it was the Town Band which proved to be the more durable of the secular ensembles.

By the turn of the twentieth century the Band’s musical activity fell into four broad categories; public ceremonies, concert performances, dancing and contests. The participation of the Band in concerts and ceremonial events not only engendered its reputation for voluntary work to charities both local and regional, which was to be a hallmark throughout its entire existence, but played an important part in promoting cultural appreciation, for it was through such events that many local people obtained their first taste of ‘serious’ music. While music for dancing was disparaged by a church led puritanical element within local society in the third quarter of the nineteenth century, by the 1880s it was gaining wider acceptance as the ‘brass dance bands’ helped to break social taboos, paving the way in the case of the Town Band for he formation of the ‘Orchestral Band’ early in the new century. Of contests the evidence is sparse to the point of non-existence during the early period of the Band’s history. The fact is somewhat surprising given that generally from 1845 a profusion of local, regional and national contests took place, resulting in the standardisation of repertory and instrumentation. If the Town Band was involved in such events there is no evidence of it until the early years of the twentieth century although the frequency with which the Band participated from that time suggests that contesting was a well established feature of its musical activity in earlier days.

Terry Spencer, 2006

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