Northowram
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Northowram, Halifax — Oliver Heywood, Old Stone Houses and Village History
Northowram is a historic hilltop village north-east of Halifax, with roots reaching back to the medieval period. Its name appears in the Domesday Book of 1086 in a form recorded as Ufrum, although this may refer to the wider district rather than the present village itself. The old settlement grew around Towngate, where stone houses, cottages and workshops formed the historic village centre. Quarrying was recorded locally by 1379, and the surrounding countryside later supported textile mills and other industries.
One of Northowram’s most significant historical figures was Oliver Heywood (1630–1702), the Puritan minister whose religious beliefs brought him into conflict with the established Church of England. After being ejected from his ministry, Heywood continued preaching to local communities. A nonconformist congregation developed in Northowram, and its chapel opened in 1688. The present Heywood United Reformed Church dates from 1836–37 and retains a strong connection with the earlier chapel and its founder.
Education also has a long history here. Heywood established Bell School on Northowram Green in 1693, reflecting the importance of learning within the community. Other historic buildings include houses dating from the 17th and early 18th centuries, alongside the Shoulder of Mutton public house and the parish church of St Matthew, built in the early 20th century.
During the 18th and 19th centuries, turnpike roads, quarrying and the expanding textile trade brought change to the wider township. Northowram gradually became more closely connected to Halifax, and 20th-century housing growth transformed its rural surroundings. Today, the conservation area preserves much of the historic village core, while old photographs of Towngate and its buildings offer a glimpse of Northowram in earlier generations.
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COLEY, a village lying just within the northern boundary of the township of Hipperholme-cum-Brighouse. The church of St. John the Baptist catered for the spiritual needs of people from a wide area including parts of the Northowram and Shelf townships. The noted cleric Oliver Heywood who was the minister at Coley was deprived of his living following the Act of Uniformity when Charles II was restored to the throne in 1660.
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