THE BORDER LAND

47 Marsden, the boundary valley; Dobcross and Saddleworth (where there are some ancient houses) were Roman stations, and beyond the latter are remains going back further even than the time of the Roman occupation, in the shape of the Druidical stones near the house known as Bill o' Jacks. All along the edge of the county, going between Delph and the Rishworth Moors, the scenery is equally wild and impressive, and on the Yorkshire side there are few signs of human life, while the moors are an absolute solitude, wide stretches of land which appear to be forsaken of all life but that of the birds and creatures inhabiting them. One feature of these moors the traveller will not fail to observe, especially on those lying north-west of Blackstone Edge, and that is the presence of numerous reservoirs which shine like mirrors for miles away.

At Bailing's Gate, on the highest point of Blackstone Edge, the traveller is on the borders of Lancashire and Yorkshire, and may if he so pleases set foot upon both counties at the same time. He is also standing on one of the most conspicuous heights in Yorkshire, the dark, frowning form of which may be seen at long distances. Far below him in the valley of the Ribourne lies Ripponden, and on his way thither he is not likely to lack company, for the road he treads was a principal highway between Yorkshire and Lancashire long before Daniel Defoe, his uneasy horses, and his frightened dog, came trembling along it in a snowstorm, and has continued to be so, despite the fact that the railway which bears the name of the two counties has long carried men and merchandise along the innumerable curves up the valley of the Calder. There is another highroad going away from the top of Blackstone Edge towards Mytholmroyd, which passes the wild bit of country known as Turvin Holes, and drops down into Cragg Valley, and is well worth exploration, as, indeed, every road and lane in this district is. Innumerable stories might be told of the country hereabouts-stories of adventures on the moors, of highwaymen, of flood and storm, of ghosts and poachers, of strange oddities, and of old-world doings full of the rare charm of the antique. Tales or no tales, the traveller will find plenty of food for thought as he goes downhill, having rested at the Derby inn, towards Ripponden, which lies, almost buried out of sight, deep down amongst the hills. There is little to note at Ripponden save the evidences of manufactures and the strength of the stone houses, some of which are ancient and picturesque. A goodly bridge of stone crosses the Ribourne near the church, and beyond it the traveller finds himself at the foot of a road locally known as Ripponden Bank, up which, by many a twist and turn, he will climb, lifting himself some six hundred feet within a distance of a mile. No one but an accomplished pedestrian will do this with absolute equanimity, not even for the sake of the wide prospects which meet the eye at the extreme summit of the hill. But there is ample compensation to the enthusiast in those prospects and in the presence of Barkisland, a quaint little hamlet of picturesque stone houses, in the midst

of which an artist might sit down and find material for his sketch-book for days together.

In Barkisland and its immediate surroundings the traveller, if he concerns himself at all about the names of various houses and small estates, will be struck by the frequent use of the word "royd" as a termination. In Barkisland alone, a small place, too, there are ten "royds;" in Norland, an adjacent village, there are seven; and in Wadsworth, a neighbouring township, there are ten. All around this part of Yorkshire, indeed, the word is extraordinarily common, not merely as the termination of a place-name, but also as part of a personal name, as Murgatroyd, Akroyd, Oldroyd. "Royd" means ground "roided" or cleared-for example, Lingroyd, the ground cleared of ling; Akroyd, ground cleared of oak; Ellenroyd, ground cleared of elder-bushes, commonly called ellen-trees in this neighbourhood. Now and then the prefix indicates the sort of ground cleared, as Stonyroyd, Clayroyd, Rawroyd (raw rough), and sometimes the owner of the ground, as Hanroyd, Milnerroyd, and Ibbotroyd; while again it occasionally indicates the situation, as in Murgatroyd (the "royd" on the "gate" (= way) to the moor); Knowlroyd (the "royd" on the knoll) and Netherroyd (the "royd" below the hill).

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From Barkisland the traveller may descend, easily and comfortably, towards Elland, in the valley of the Calder. On this portion of his journey he will find no vast solitudes, but from any part of the road he may gaze upon the outlines of the hills beyond the valley and on the moorlands which come up to their edges. Ere the present century came with its vast increase of trade and manufacture, the valleys and glens between Barkisland and Elland were no doubt solitary places enough—nowadays the mill lifts its roofs and tall chimneys to the sky from the heart of most of them. Elland itself, romantically situated enough, is now a modern manufacturing town, very different to the small township which Cooke saw when he made his inspection of it previous to writing his itinerary of 1812. At that time he remarked of Elland and Halifax what Leland remarked of Hedon in connection with Hull, namely, that the development of the larger town was taking away all the trade from the former. Since his time, however, Elland has asserted itself, and probably has no more care for what the folks of Halifax may do or say than for the opinions of a South Sea Islander upon the manufacture of cloths. Nor (so full of business-like qualities is it, and so resolutely bent on keeping abreast with the times) has it any particular pride in the fact that it is one of the most ancient places in the valley of the Calder, and possesses a church which is only second in point of age to the mother-church of Halifax.

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of which an artist might sit down and find material for his sketch-book for days together.

In Barkisland and its immediate surroundings the traveller, if he concerns himself at all about the names of various houses and small estates, will be struck by the frequent use of the word "royd" as a termination. In Barkisland alone, a small place, too, there are ten "royds;" in Norland, an adjacent village, there are seven; and in Wadsworth, a neighbouring township, there are ten. All around this part of Yorkshire, indeed, the word is extraordinarily common, not merely as the termination of a place-name, but also as part of a personal name, as Murgatroyd, Akroyd, Oldroyd. Royd" means ground "roided" or cleared-for example, Lingroyd, the ground cleared of ling; Akroyd, ground cleared of oak; Ellenroyd, ground cleared of elder-bushes, commonly called ellen-trees in this neighbourhood. Now and then the prefix indicates the sort of ground cleared, as Stonyroyd, Clayroyd, Rawroyd (raw = rough), and sometimes the owner of the ground, as Hanroyd, Milnerroyd, and Ibbotroyd; while again it occasionally indicates the situation, as in Murgatroyd (the "royd" on the "gate” (= way) to the moor); Knowlroyd (the "royd" on the knoll) and Netherroyd (the "royd" below the hill).

From Barkisland the traveller may descend, easily and comfortably, towards Elland, in the valley of the Calder. On this portion of his journey he will find no vast solitudes, but from any part of the road he may gaze upon the outlines of the hills beyond the valley and on the moorlands which come up to their edges. Ere the present century came with its vast increase of trade and manufacture, the valleys and glens between Barkisland and Elland were no doubt solitary places enough—nowadays the mill lifts its roofs and tall chimneys to the sky from the heart of most of them. Elland itself, romantically situated enough, is now a modern manufacturing town, very different to the small township which Cooke saw when he made his inspection of it previous to writing his itinerary of 1812. At that time he remarked of Elland and Halifax what Leland remarked of Hedon in connection with Hull, namely, that the development of the larger town was taking away all the trade from the former. Since his time, however, Elland has asserted itself, and probably has no more care for what the folks of Halifax may do or say than for the opinions of a South Sea Islander upon the manufacture of cloths. Nor (so full of business-like qualities is it, and so resolutely bent on keeping abreast with the times) has it any particular pride in the fact that it is one of the most ancient places in the valley of the Calder, and possesses a church which is only second in point of age to the mother-church of Halifax.

VOL. II.

G