In 1870-72, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Meltham like this:
MELTHAM, a village, a township, a chapelry, and a sub-district, in the parish of Almondbury and district of Huddersfield, W. R. Yorkshire. The village stands in an open valley, under a moorland mountainous ridge, 3½ miles SW of Lockwood r. station, and 5 SW by S of Huddersfield; is a pleasant place; and has a post office‡ under Huddersfield, and fairs on the first Saturday of April and the Saturday after 11 Oct. ...
The township comprises 4,525 acres. Real property, £11,675; of which £150 are in mines. Pop. in 1851,3,758; in 1861,4,046. Houses, 795. The manor is divided among five. A large proportion of the land is moor. Coal is found; and there are excellent building and flag stones. Industry is carried on in several woollen mills, two large cotton mills, dye-works, and an iron-foundry.—The chapelry is less extensive than the township. Pop., 3,456. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Ripen. Value, £275.* Patron, the Vicar of Almondbury. The church was rebuilt in 1786; was enlarged, and had a tower added in 1835; and is a plain stone structure. There are chapels for Baptists and Wesley an and a handsome Church school erected in 1867.—The sub-district comprises the townships of Meltham and South Crosland. Acres, 6,085. Pop., 6,840. Houses, 1,377.
Meltham through time
Meltham is now part of Kirklees district. Click here for graphs and data of how Kirklees has changed over two centuries. For statistics about Meltham itself, go to Units and Statistics.
GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth, History of Meltham, in Kirklees and West Riding | Map and description, A Vision of Britain through Time.
URL: https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/2
Date accessed: 16th April 2024
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