They were the ne’er do wells and the ruffians of Hall Bower.
And their behaviour angered and upset many of the local people.
So much so that they decided to take action, and set up a fund to build a day school to take the youngsters off the streets and teach them useful skills.
Now, 200 years later, villagers in Hall Bower are preparing to celebrate the anniversary of the Hall Bower Sunday School with a series of events.
One of the main ones comes up later this month with a special concert featuring Almondbury Ladies Choir, who have made the hilltop chapel their home for the past decade but are themselves celebrating a major anniversary. It is their 50th year of singing.
They began life as Aymbry Choir and they will be leading the double anniversary celebration concert on Saturday, May 17, fittingly opening their performance with the song “Open Your Window”, which was the first piece they learned.
The fascinating history of a building that was opened in the year that Napoleon was exiled to the island of Elba has been brought to life with a series of photos and stories, gathered by many of those involved in running the chapel today. They include John Wakefield, chairman of the trustees, Stuart Roebuck, who is responsible for pastoral care, and Joan Ford, who is a choir member and runs the flower club.
Mrs Ford, 75, is married to Malcolm, 80, who was born in the former caretaker’s rooms beneath the chapel in High Lane. The rooms are now rented out as a flat.
She said: “There are a lot of things planned for this year to mark 200 years since the opening of the school built by public subscription.
“Legend has it that a group of farmers trudging home from the market noticed the unruly behaviour of a group of rough youths and decided to do something about the problem.
“It is believed that the building of the chapel was part of the wider national campaign to civilise the behaviour of an increasingly unruly section of the emerging industrial working class. Indeed John Wesley said of the residents of Huddersfield ‘A wilder people I never saw in England. The men, women and children filled the streets and seemed just ready to devour us’
“They set about raising money or promises of labour to build the school that was to be open every day of the week.
“It was a day school during the week, with subjects being taught including reading, writing and arithmetic and then there was religious instruction on Sundays. To this day many activities are taking part some part of every day”.
The Chapel was extensively rebuilt in 1879 and there has been considerable work inside over the past decades.
But it has been a familiar landmark to so many nestling on the roadside below Castle Hill.
Mrs Ford said there are many activities and groups based at the chapel, including a rambling club on Mondays, the Almondbury Ladies Choir rehearsals on Monday evenings, an art club on Tuesdays, coffee mornings and flower clubs on Wednesdays and, of course, services on Sundays.
“We are somewhat unusual in that we are a non-denominational chapel. It means we are free to invited visiting preachers from the Church of England, Baptist and Methodist Churches to our services.
“We obviously don’t get huge numbers at the services but we do have a regular group of people here.
“If you look at the old registers you see many of the names from the past that are still linked with the village: Beaumont, Roebuck and Harper”.
Mrs Ford and the choir have made the chapel their home for the past decade and they have established a great reputation.
They have won many cups in competitions and sung at many prestigious places including Fountains Abbey, York Minster and the Albert Hall.
“Our repertoire consists of songs from the shows, medieval and Baroque music, Estonian Folk songs and Spanish songs in Spanish.
“For the concert on May 17 we are planning a special programme which will include old favourites from the Sunday School days of the past.
“Hall Bower has something to be proud about and to this end we are having a Double Anniversary Celebration Concert at Hall Bower on May 17”
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