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.