The Halifax Children's Holiday Home
Longley Farm was bought by the Halifax Children's Welfare League in 1923 for £700 and was used as a holiday home until 1937.
A postcard showing the new holiday home soon after the building had been completed and opened in 1937.
Longley Farm
Longley Farm
In 1923 the Welfare League took the decision to purchase Longley Farm at Norland, which came with 30 acres of land. It was reported that the date 1735 was carved into the lintel over the door, but this is now, I assume, hidden by the later addition of a porch. The price was £700 (also quoted as £800 and even £1,700), for which a mortgage was obtained. This, however, was paid off in 18 months. The League benefited from having generous supporters among the worthy folk of the borough, but also a lot of effort was put into raising funds through flag days, whist drives, concerts etc. Collections were also made at rugby games at Thrum Hall.
The holiday home at Longley Farm was officially opened on Saturday 5th May 1923 by the Mayor and Mayoress of Halifax (Cllr and Mrs A W Longbottom). Alongside "quite a large crowd of folk", the dignitaries included Sir Harold Mackintosh, who was given the task of unlocking the door, and Bishop Frodsham, the vicar of Halifax (1), who dedicated the building. The comprehensive report of the opening in the Halifax Evening Courier on 7th May stated that the purpose of the home was "providing free holidays and health-giving surroundings for the palefaced poor children of the borough" and continued "Situate on the Norland hillside, about midway as the crow flies between Ladstone and Triangle station, Longley Farm occupies a charming site....The building has been plainly but very comfortably equipped for the purpose of receiving youthful guests, while outside there is ample provision for healthy recreation." Longley Farm was capable of receiving 16 children at a time, but initially took 12, which cost the League 30 shillings (£1.50) per child for two weeks. The chairman of the League, Mr J H Maude, who was also the president of the local branch of Pearson's Fresh Air Fund, thanked the official guests and stated that the Committee "did endeavour to get the right atmosphere for the children. In addition to being given good, regular meals, they were taken out for walks and talks, and taught good manners. On one occasion they had a child whose weight increased by 11lbs in a fortnight. Practically every child gained in weight at the home, and when they did not, something serious was feared, and medical aid sought." He referred to the mortgage on the farm as a "monkey" on their backs and appealed to the people of Halifax "to shift that monkey quickly".
- On the following day, 8th May, the Evening Courier reported that three framed photographs of "well-known" social workers (Sir John Kirk, Mr Castle (2) and Sir Arthur Pearson) had been presented to the holiday home by the Shaftesbury Society, and hung in one of the rooms. No doubt the photos provided the children with hours of entertainment! However, a donor had also presented a musicbox to the home, which probably did entertain them.
(1) George Frodsham had been the Bishop of North Queensland in Australia, but on his return to the UK, he held the position of vicar of Halifax from 1920 until his death in 1937.
(2) Mr Castle is incorrect. It should have read Mr Ernest Kessell, who was the secretary of the Pearson Fresh Air Fund.
1924: Installation of a wireless
In July 1924, this little advert in the Evening Courier invited friends of the holiday home to come to the "Opening of the New Wireless Receiver" on Saturday 5th. A wireless receiver (=radio) was an expensive novelty at the time, and it is possible that this was the first one in Norland. The BBC had only begun broadcasting 18 months previously in November 1922. The installation of a wireless also tells us that Longley Farm probably had an electricity supply at this time as, contrary to the current meaning of wireless, the receiver would have had to be plugged in to the mains. However, it could have been run from an accumulator. The advert also asks people to book their seats on a "chara" (=charabanc), for transport from Halifax. This was how the first motorised coaches were referred to, the term coming from the French, meaning a cart with a bench or benches.
The wireless receiver was the generous gift of Mr W E Denison (any information?) and had been installed in the home by his son, Mr Percival Denison. "On Saturday afternoon a large crowd of friends and the children in residence assembled on the lawn, and by the aid of a loud speaker, listened to a vocal concert. Several items were also given in the dining room, after which the equipment was formally handed over by Mr Percival Denison. As the installer, he spoke with full knowledge of all its capabilities. He explained the wide range of the instrument, the simplicity of its working and the care that had been taken to prevent any possibility of danger from the elements."
Unfortunately, the donor, Mr W E Denison, was not present as he was on holiday in Bournemouth, but he was sent the following telegram: "Hearty thanks for wireless, from children and crowd of friends at Longley."
What the visitors and children heard on the wireless that afternoon was listed in Saturday's Evening Courier just as "A Vocal Concert" from the Manchester transmitter, from 3.30 to 4.30, with no details as to who was performing. Whether the receiver was powerful enough for them to hear "Children's Corner" at 6pm from the London transmitter we don't know, but this programme was available from Manchester the next day.
That afternoon, the chairman of the Welfare League, Mr J H Maude, was also able to announce that "The Monkey was cleared" ie the mortgage on Longley Farm had been paid off. (HXEC July 7th 1924)
Two weeks later the Evening Courier reported that a pianoforte had also been donated to the holiday home "by very valued friends...who wish to remain anonymous". (HXEC July 21st 1924)
1931: A successful year
"...the season extended from May 4th to Nov 2nd, during which period 13 groups of 15 children, comprising 75 boys and 120 girls, enjoyed a fortnight's holiday. In every case imoroved health and vigour resulted." (HXEC 6/6/1932)
1932: Hopes of enlargement
The first indications that Longley Farm was not big enough for the Welfare League's plans, came at the opening in 1932, from the chairman, J H Maude, now Cllr Maude: "It was hoped to build up a reserve fund with the idea of ultimately enlarging the home. If they had room they could have twice as many children." (HXEC 6/6/1932)
1934: The Mayor's Pledge
At the opening of the Holiday Home on 9th June 1934, the Mayor of Halifax, Cllr F A Leach, JP, praised the work of the Welfare League. He said that he knew of the great delight that had been given to the children and the gratitude experienced by the parents of those that had had a holiday at Longley. In his lifetime great strides had been made in the matter of looking after children but there was still a great deal to do. "We bring the children from the slum areas in order to give them a fortnight in the country to get the fresh air and good food which they are not able to obtain at home. It is useless for us to spend money, to get generous people to contribute to these institutions, or to bring the children here to build them up and then to send them home to live under conditions where the effects of your generosity are wiped out in a few days." Cllr Leach concluded with a pledge that there would be "a wholesale clearance of the slums in our town" (see photo).
The Welfare League report contained the statistics that over the 23 years of its existence, 3,200 children had had holidays and that 215,250 meals had been served.
As regards the new holiday home, a plot of land below Ladstone Rock, which was part of the 30 acres that came with Longley Farm, had been chosen and now £2,000 was needed for the building.
(HXEC 11/06/1934)
1935: The Appeal is Launched
On 13th September 1935 the Halifax Evening Courier published a letter from the Mayor of Halifax, Cllr Mrs Miriam LIghtowler JP, which launched the appeal for funds. In the letter dated the previous day, she wrote: "The Halifax Children's League has for some time intended as soon as practicable to errect a new and up-to-date Holiday Home at Triangle (sic), and I have decided to open a fund to enable the scheme to be completed.
The first Holiday Home for Halifax children was opened in 1910, and the work has been carried on continuously by the Children's Welfare League down to the present time. The present Home, which has been used since 1923, is at Longley, Triangle (sic). Although these premises have served a useful purpose, they are not ideally suitable for the work. There is no proper water supply or up-to-date sanitation and the property, which is very old, cannot be adapted to modern requirements.
The Home which it is intended to errect will be on a site not far from the present Home, almost under the Ladstone Rock at Norland. The cost of building and equipping will be about £3,000 and subscriptions amounting to £1,257 19s 6d have already been received. Nearly £2,000 is thus still required, and it is the hope of raising this amount from the public of Halifax that I am making this appeal during my very happy Mayoral year. The proposed new Home will consist of a single storey building (ed. in the end a two storey building was errected), accommodating 26 children, with dining room, play room and dormitory, all light and airy. The building will be electrically lighted and have water laid on.
The Children's Welfare League during the past 25 years has done valuable work on behalf of the children of the town. 3,700 have been given a fortnight's holiday, which they would not otherwise have been able to have, and the Holiday Home has contributed considerably to the physical and mental well-being of the child life of the district. With up-to-date premises the work can be extended and improved."
The letter concluded with a statement of confidence in the people of Halifax as regards their support, and a list of some of the subscribers so far. Donations listed ranged from £500 (In Memory of Gillian) to 2s (anonymous).
1935 - Letters in support
In the following weeks and months the Evening Courier frequently reported on the progress of the appeal, and the various fundraising events being staged to raise money, from garden parties and concerts to direct coins in a bucket efforts at sporting events. Early on they published the following letter from a girl who had stayed in the Home at Longley. "It is a lot different in Halifax up to what it is at the Home. I have enjoyed my holiday very much. My mother and father are very glad I have gained a pound and a half. I hope very much to come again (ed. does anybody know if children were allowed to go for a second time?). I thank you for your kindness. Everybody near where we live thought I had been to the seaside, I was that red. My mother is glad that I can help her with peeling the potatoes and making beds. I liked the swings and the rocking horse very much, but best of all I liked playing pie-ball in the field with Mr Thompson". (ed. Mr & Mrs Thompson were long serving warden and matron at the home. Does anybody have their first names?)
1935 Direct advertising
When the appeal was launched, a notice board was errected by the side of the road, where the new Holiday Home was to be built. I'm afraid the photo isn't very clear, but it shows four boys checking out the appeal "barometer" showing how much had been raised so far towards the total. It gives the name and address of the treasurer of the Welfare League (Mr J H Jagger, 198 Rochdale Rd. Halifax) and at the bottom records the fact that over 4,000 children have been given a holiday by the League. (HXEC 18/09/1935)
February 1936 - The BBC Radio Appeal
Photo: This cartoon of Deputy Mayor Miriam Lightowler appeared in the Evening Courier prior to the radio broadcast, presumably to create more interest and ensure a greater audience for the appeal. The worthy folk of Halifax, well-versed in the programmes of the Choral Society, would have appreciated the reference to a piece by Handel from "The Israelites in Egypt". The Deputy Mayor certainly wasn't intending to sing the appeal! (HXEC 21/02/1936)
At 8.45pm on 23rd February 1936, the BBC Northern Programme dedicated its weekly good cause slot to the Holiday Home appeal. This was made by the Deputy Mayor of Halifax, Ald Miriam LIghtowler, who had launched the appeal in 1935 when she was Mayor. What follows is the text of her appeal.
"The well-being of children is a matter about which none of us can be indifferent. For over 25 years the Halifax Children's Welfare League has been providing holidays every summer for poor and ailing children who would otherwise have not been able to get away from the drab surroundings of our industrial district. The children are taken to a holiday home on the edge of the moors at Norland, where the air is invigorating and the surroundings beautiful. Each child has a fortnight's holiday and is well fed and cared for. It has been possible so far to accommodate 16 children at a time and the Home remains open for nearly half the year. The work is carried on by an enthusiastic band of voluntary workers, who readily give both time and service. Since the first Holiday Home was opened in 1910, 3,700 children have been given a holiday, with most beneficial results.
Those who can regularly take holidays and know the benefits of them will recognise what the Home must mean to children whose parents cannot afford to send them away. Some of the children provided for are orphans, some belong to unemployed men, and many are crippled or sufferers in other ways, but all are very poor. Some of the most eloquent tributes to the work of the Children's Welfare League have come from the children themselves. Many of them write letters to say how they have enjoyed themselves.
Last autumn, whilst I was Mayor of Halifax, I made a public appeal for funds to enable the Children's Welfare League to build a new home. The public responded generously and contributed over £3,000. Active work will be commenced within the next few weeks on the new building, which will accommodate 33 children. It is being planned on modern lines with a large playroom well lighted, and there will be baths and proper sanitary arrangements. The cost of the building alone will be £3,500, appreciably more than was originally contemplated. In addition there will be considerable expense in furnishing and equipment, and when the building is completed there will be increased expenses of upkeep.
The Committee wish to open the new Holiday Home free from debt, and to take up their extended work with proper financial support."
(HXEC 24/02/1936)
