John Henry Green - His gift
of “The Green Park”
to Horbury forever

BRIEF BACKGROUND TO THE GREEN FAMILY

John Henry Green was one of a large family of Greens who had made their home in Horbury and remained here for over 150 years.

Thomas and Martha Green lived at Campsall, Doncaster, where their eldest son, Christianus, was born on Christmas Day 1780. The family had connections with Horbury and it was here that Christianus met and married Sarah Firth in 1804.

Christianus was a hand loom weaver by trade. He rented property in Rayner’s Yard, an area between Chestnut House on Millfield Road and Northfield Lane, which is now part of The Sycamores. There is evidence to suggest that he may have been in partnership with Joseph Rayner. Christianus and Sarah had seven children, five of whom survived. These were William, John, Jesse, Henry and George and all of them became hand loom weavers. The family were staunch Methodists.

With the invention of new machinery, the Industrial Revolution brought about many profound changes in the woollen industry from the mid18th century to around 1840. The introduction of Power looms into the mills, replaced the less efficient hand loom weavers, leaving men like the sons of Christianus and Sarah unable to find work. By the 1840s there was a high level of unemployment.

The Greens were in touch with other Horbury people who had emigrated to America and, perhaps, it was from them that they learned of the wonderful opportunities to be found there. In the autumn of 1841, the 22- year- old Henry emigrated to America, where he went to work for another ex-Horbury man, William Goldthorpe. They worked well together and created a number of partnerships. It was not long before Jesse and John went out to join Henry and, by 1842, they were established American citizens.

In 1845, Henry made a brief return to Horbury, not particularly to visit relatives, but to marry the girl he had left behind, Sarah Roberts. They then returned to America as man and wife.

Christianus, aged 64, and his wife, Sarah, aged 65 then made what must have been the hardest decision of their lives when they decided to go to America and join their sons, leaving behind William and George, their oldest and youngest. They sailed from Liverpool on a voyage that took nine weeks, enduring horrendous weather and leaving everyone thinking that the ship may have been lost. However, their son, John, had waited for them at the port and met them off the ship ready to take them on the long journey to his home in Illinois.

William, their eldest son, who remained in Horbury, was a weaver by trade, owned some land and lived at No.1 School Yard.

The youngest son, George, married Mary Stringer, who came from an influential Horbury family owning much property and land. George built their house, “Highfields” on Stringer land. He became a prosperous businessman. They had eight children, five girls (Mary died in 1863) and three boys.

George was in business as a cloth manufacturer, first as Rayner & Green and then they were joined by Colonel Hartley in the 1860’s and traded as Hartley, Rayner & Green. He also carried on his late father-in-law’s business of basket maker, especially the large ones required by the woollen manufacturers.

All three of their sons were employed by the Company: John Henry Green was the eldest son b1855, George William b1857 and the youngest Thomas Edward b1862. 

John Henry Green was not married and he lived at Highfields House with his parents. The house can still be seen at the top of Quarry Hill.

George William Green b.1857 married Fanny Miers and his father purchased “The Elms” as a wedding gift. After renovation the name was changed to Elm Lodge and is now a Residential Home.  He had a rag business and also worked for the Company. The warehouse in the background is where he stored rags. 

The youngest son, Thomas Edward Green b1862 married Lillie Miers, sister of Fanny, and they were given the Stringer family home, Willow Grove in Cluntergate as a wedding gift. TEG joined his father in the business and he was a salesman. He would call upon customers, mainly in the coach building firms, to sell the heavy woollen cloth they manufactured.

TEG was also very interested in photography and travelled widely, giving many lectures.

He left a legacy to Horbury - his glass slides, which show us what Horbury looked like more than 100 years ago.  He was adept at colouring glass slides too.

JOHN HENRY GREEN 1855 - 1932

JOHN HENRY GREEN (JHG) the eldest son of George and Mary Green, was one of Horbury’s most generous benefactors.

Following the death of his parents, John Henry continued to live at Highfields. In 1915, he married Mary Walker but had no children.

He was educated at private schools in Leeds and Wakefield. He became a very successful business man, holding the roles of Managing Director and Chairman of Hartley Green & Co. Leeds, where his brothers William and Thomas were also employed.

Horticulture was one of his interests and he was meticulous in setting out the grounds at Highfields.

JHG was also a founder member of The Leeds Philharmonic Society 1870, and frequently held concerts at Highfields with famous singers and musicians of the time often attending.  

Having no children of his own, and possibly due to the loss of many babies in childbirth, he created a trust for pregnant women of little means to enable them to have their children in a ‘Nursing Home’ and opened no 168 Benton Hill for this purpose.

For many years he had been troubled by the lack of play grounds in Horbury and showed great concern that children were playing on the streets. On the 26th February 1911, JHG wrote to Col. J W R Parker of Carr Lodge, asking him to donate or sell Low Park for use by the public. (This is the field where Horbury High School is situated) However, his request fell on stony ground.

It took many years for John Henry to fulfil his ambition when, in November 1925, he purchased three fields Top Close, Law Close and Four Acres in the Westfield area with the purpose of creating a Public Park. 

In this particular area the Barnsley & Gawthorpe outcrop coal was very near to the surface. From the 18th century coal had been mined, most likely by bell pit method, or by adits on the sloping ground, which had created an undulating landscape. In 1925 the area was a wilderness, covered with a plentiful supply of bracken, overgrown bushes and small trees.

This did not deter JHG who persuaded the council to infill, using the town’s refuse to fill in the undulations and then to have the area levelled out. Many thousands of tons of waste were used to create the playing fields and resulted in a great gift, held in trust, to benefit the people of Horbury, forever.

JHG finally conveyed to Horbury Urban District Council with specific conditions including:  land on which to build bungalows, land to the Primrose League on which to build a public hall (Primrose Hall) and land “for public playing fields or recreation grounds for the use and enjoyment of the inhabitants of Horbury for the purpose of games or sports and of laying out and planting ornamental shrubberies gardens trees lawns road walks and any necessary buildings connected therewith or for other like purpose but for no other purpose.”

”The playing fields shall be “THE GREEN PARK”

The main entrance…to the playing fields “shall be named GREEN PARK AVENUE.”

John Henry took personal responsibility for planning and planting the tree lined avenue of Lime and Plane trees which form a beautiful entrance to the park which is still part of the JHG Trust.  

He erected wrought iron gates across the main entrance, which were compulsorily removed during WWII when metal was being required for manufacturing purposes.   

HORBURY URBAN DISTRICT COUNCIL:

TRUSTEE OF ‘THE GREEN PARK’ 1926 TO 1974

REGISTERED WITH THE CHARITY COMMISSION 17th MAY 1926

REGISTERED WITH THE NATIONAL PLAYING FIELDS

WHAT WAS IN THE PARK?

Originally there were two football pitches, one rugby pitch, a cricket field with a pavilion and a children’s play area created in the area of the park which is nearest the entrance from the avenue.

Horbury Heritage Trust member Janet Stringfellow told us that it was a wonderful park and gave us a description of what was there for children to play on:

Right hand side: There was a Banana Boat which rocked; another which was slightly different; Spider’s Web roundabout and 4 or 5 swings for older children. There was also a large green corrugated shed with the front removed, which they called “The Shanks”. If it was raining, they would go in there and play games.

Left hand side: A different type of Banana Boat; Baby swings; climbing frame; a slide; a rocking horse type of thing and the big favourite was the umbrella, which you could climb up, and the Queen’s Coronet roundabout which we pushed with our feet.

There was a square of grass which was kept nice and cut. We used to play rounders, Farmer, Farmer and other games.

LOCAL GOVERNMENT REORGANISATION

In 1974, under Local Government reorganisation, Horbury became part of Wakefield Metropolitan District Council and everything connected with Horbury was passed to them.

WAKEFIELD MDC HAS BEEN TRUSTEE OF THE GREEN PARK FROM THAT DATE.

Christine M Cudworth
Trustee of HHT and Local Historian