Gauxholme and Knowlwood

The final part of the walk descends from Naze to Gauxholme in the valley beside the canal. This is location no. 7 on the map shown in previous posts.

Gauxholme seen from below Naze

Knowlwood seen from below Naze

This Blog has already described how brothers James and Mark Highley moved west from Warley along the Calder valley and settled in Todmorden. James and Martha's son John was born in 1763 whilst the family were living at Rodwell End, Stansfield. The family then moved to Swineshead in Langfield.

John married Grace Ogden in St Mary's Church, Todmorden in 1783. The couple had 11 children. In the baptism records some of the birthplaces are shown as Todmorden or Walsden, but most of the earlier births show the family living in Gauxholme and most of the later ones show the family living in Knowlwood. So it appears that John moved from Swineshead after his marriage, first to Gauxholme and then to Knowlwood.

Part of a Todmorden map of 1939

John and Grace were 4 x great grandparents. One of their children, also called John, married Mally Unsworth in 1810. John and Mally continued to live in Knowlwood before moving to Ramsden Wood - see an earlier post about this walk. One of their 8 children, Charles, was born there in 1822. Later Charles moved to Bottoms and then Alma Street in Walsden.

Naze

The walk leaves Pastureside and heads north across the moor. Location no. 6 on the map of the walk below is Naze Farm. 

All that remains of this inaccessible farm now are piles of stones. A steep and winding pack horse track leads down to the valley at Gauxholme.

From the ruins of Naze Farm looking towards Todmorden

....and looking towards Walsden

Mary Highley was the first child of James and Martha Highley, 5 x great grandparents. Mary was born in 1761 in Castle, Todmorden and baptised at Heptonstall church. In 1779 she gave birth to a son Thomas (Hiley i' th' Vicarage), already mentioned in some of the posts covering this walk. Thomas's father is unknown.

In 1786 Mary married Samuel Scholfield and the couple had 9 children. Mary and Samuel lived at Naze Farm and Thomas grew up there with his mother and stepfather and his step-siblings. 

Mary's father James died in 1795 whilst he and Martha were living at Swineshead Cottage. Martha died in 1807. It appears that after James's death she went to live with Mary and her family at Naze. James and Martha were both buried at Cross Stones church in Todmorden, but there is now no gravestone in the churchyard to remember them.

Burial record for Martha Highley (nee Greenwood)
(with the permission of West Yorkshire Archive Service)
www.wyjs.org.uk/archives

The steep track down to Gauxholme from Naze