The earliest known record of Shepley Band is from the Huddersfield Chronicle in April 1854. Several mentions of the band appear in local newspapers over the next 60 years, we have found references to Shepley Band, Brass Band, United Brass Band, String Band, and an Orchestral Band, which suggests the music scene in Shepley was thriving.
Sadly, little is known about the band in the early 1900’s, we know it disbanded around 1927. However, 50 years later it reformed and began to compete in local Brass Band competitions. Due to the many brass bands in the area, it became difficult to sustain the band, so in 1995, the decision was taken to open membership to woodwind players.
Thanks to the dedication of the conductors and players since 1995, the band gradually swelled in size, and enjoyed three fantastic trips to Sweden, Italy and Germany between 2008 and 2012.
Now, under the baton of David Tobin, we are enthusiastically embracing the next chapter of our exciting musical story.
Read a little more about our history here:
The early years 1865-1890
Our earliest record of Shepley Band so far comes from the Huddersfield Examiner in 1865, the band played hymns for the Annual Trinity Sunday Feast. In 1874 June the two Methodist Chapel school feasts were held on the same day, one group headed by Kirkburton Old Brass Band, and the other by Shepley Band. We have references to a Brass Band Contest being held at the Cricket Ground, Cliffe Top, Shepley, by Shepley Band in 1876. The contest judge, a Mr. T. Battley, affronting the crowd so much by his decisions that he was dragged out of his tent! The contest attracted the major conductors of the day including Edwin Swift and John Gladney, with John Gladney’s Hinchcliffe Mill winning the massive £14 first prize, around £8000 in real terms now! With a total prize pot of £25 no wonder Shepley could attract these top bands. In September 1887 Shepley, conducted by George Wadsworth, entered the Holmfirth Contest, playing an arrangement of Handel’s Hallelujah Chorus.
George Wadsworth, a stone mason from the Holme Valley, became increasingly famous as a band trainer, adjudicator and composer/ arranger. He adjudicated many contests, the pinnacle being the Crystal Palace Grand Shield in 1909. He became one of the first conductors of Hepworth Brass Band in the 1890s. He arranged many test pieces for Band Contests too. He truly was a great bandsman.
The Golden Years 1890-1900
A concert in St Paul’s National School. Interestingly the band is referred to as Shepley United Brass Band implying that the band had merged at some point with another band. However, the band seems to be called everything from Shepley Band, Shepley Brass Band, Shepley United Brass Band and even a Shepley Orchestral Band. We can only speculate as to whether these were all one and the same. It should also be noted that the best seats in the house were priced at two shillings (2/-) which is the equivalent today of £8-£9. An expensive concert in such a small village! The 1893 concert also featured the Shepley Orpheus Prize Quartet with a Hayden H. Holden singing Alto. Holden was one of Shepley’s wealthy tailors and lived at Jenkyn House on Jenkyn Lane. He was later to figure in band history as President. The Holden family appear in a large number of musical groups during this time. 1896 saw the opening of the new Boards School on Firth Street – now Shepley First School. The Shepley Orchestral Band played to celebrate the opening. 1896 once again had an eventful contest. Huge prize money drew in some massive banding names. 1897 has Shepley Hosting yet another contest, this time it seems without incident, unless you know different. Adjudicated by J.Walker 1. Leeds City 2. Wharncliffe/Silkstone 3. Grimethorpe 1898 shows us another glimpse of the status and ability of Shepley Brass Band when they gave a concert again in St Paul’s National School featuring a number of local artistes and included John Paley as Solo Cornet. Again, the Shepley Orpheus Quartet performed and the ‘humourist’ was Walter Matthews; Matthews played trombone with Shepley Brass Band.
Thanks go to John Holden of Meltham for allowing us access to his collection of concert programmes.
John Paley was a leading cornet player towards the end of the nineteenth century. Born in 1875 in Saltaire Bradford. He began his playing career along side his father in the Saltaire Prize Band when he was seven. In 1892 he left Black Dyke Mills band and went to America where he joined the famous Patrick Gilmore’s band. However, following the sudden death of the band’s founder, John came back to England and in 1893 was reappointed the Black Dyke Mills cornet soloist. In 1898 he played a concert with Shepley Band. A great conductor once asked him if he could play The Messiah. His reply – I AM THE MESSIAH. Northern Philharmonic Orchestra was rehearsing a big choral work in the Bradford Methodist Hall and Sir Malcolm Sergeant was the conductor. When the rehearsal had started John Paley was nowhere to be seen. Then suddenly after about ten minutes the rehearsal door was flung open and in he came, striding out as though he owned the place. ‘Nah-then Malcolm’, he said, stopping the rehearsal in mid tracks. ’…You have Bottomley there, who used to be principal cornet a Black Dyke Mills, Brown another fine solo cornet player with that band, and Lang, present principal cornet player. And I, of course, was the greatest of the lot. Right-ho Malcolm, now lets get on wi rehearsal…’.
John Paley was 80 years old when he died on March 12 1955.
“A Man of the 20th Century” – courtesy of Nicola Ramsden
An autobiography written by Arthur Moorhouse available in the Huddersfield Library.
My grandfather, Elijah, was born on the 21st March 1855. He was a big powerful man and I remember him with a large belly, which was ideal for sporting a watch chain. He was quite a modest man, very respected in the village of Shepley and was know as “Lijah” to all. A characteristic of him was his hand-made square-toed boots with at least one and a quarter inch thick soles. He had at least two pairs and wore them on alternative days. Elijah had not the fingers for weaving. His association with his friend Smith Benson, the blacksmith would be the start of his blacksmith days.
His occupation away from the woollen industry was at the collieries and pits of South Yorkshire near Barnsley, sharpening his tools of the miners and other jobs done by blacksmiths. His brother Wyndham followed him in later years as engine tenter and boilerman. Elijah went to Carlton Main and Darton Colliries with Wyndam going to Gawber Colliery.
Every Monday morning Elijah set off on the first train from Shepley with a pillowcase containing 24 home made tea cakes. They lasted him the week whilst he worked at Carlton Main.
Eventually Elijah returned to work in Shepley and raised his family working as a blacksmith at the stone quarries. He ended his working days at a woollen mill, not as a weaver but as a blacksmith at Kay and Stewarts, Woollen Manufacturers of Lockwood, Huddersfield.
He was a brass bandsman, naturally his belly was made for the drum and he presented a formidable sight with drumsticks flailing to us kids. He was a drummer in Shepley Band for forty years. He was buried at Shepley New connection chapel in 1930 aged seventy five a widower from Dungeon bottom. I went to the funeral, from his home to the chapel, the entire village lined the streets. A brass band headed the cortege from his home and played the Dead March. Throughout his life Elijah was well liked.