History
Life at Cliffe House
Life at Cliffe House, when James and Jane Senior lived there with their young children, would have been like life in any other wealthy Victorian household.
Typically dressed Victorian woman and man.
James did not need to go to work every day, but would visit the Brewery once or twice a week to check that the business was running smoothly and to give instructions to his manager. He visited the Maltings and the Gasworks and also spent some time each week at the Brewery’s offices in Cross Church Street, Huddersfield. This still left him plenty of time to enjoy activities such as shooting, hunting and fishing.
Near Cliffe House was reservoir, which the local people called the Push. It was kept well stocked with salmon and trout, so that James could use it for fishing.
The Seniors owned a shooting lodge called Goodbent, which is on the moors above Holmfirth. During the Grouse shooting season James and his guests often stayed at Goodbent for a few days’ shooting. Food and drink was sent over in wagons from Cliffe House along with a cook and servants to look after the shooting party.
Grouse shooting in Victorian times.
Jane Senior spent some of her time each day speaking to her housekeeper and cook, planning menus (especially for dinner parties and special occasions), and giving instructions about beds to be prepared for guests, sewing to be done and flowers to be cut and brought into the house.
A Victorian dinner party
Jane herself would arrange the flowers and the rest of her day might be spent doing embroidery, reading, playing the piano, visiting friends and seeing her dressmaker. She would also spend some time each day with her daughters, maybe teaching them some of her skills.
A typically dressed Victorian child
When Edward, Amy and Mabel were young children they spent most of the day with their nanny in the nursery. There were toys (such as a rocking horse, clockwork toys, dolls and toy soldiers) and books and nanny would play with the children and teach them their letters and possibly how to read. She also taught them good manners and how to behave as well behaved Victorian children should.
A wooden rocking horse
As the children got older the girls had a governess at home and learned to play an instrument, to sing, to read and recite poetry, to paint and sew, to write neatly and to move elegantly. They were also taught how to deal with servants and organise a household.
We do not know whether Edward had a tutor or was sent away to school, but he would have certainly learned Latin and Mathematics and would have read books on History and Geography and studied the globe.
All three children learned to ride and had their own ponies. They were probably taught to ride in Cliffe House grounds by the groom. They may have had their own patch of garden, where the gardener helped them to plant seeds to grow their own flowers and vegetables.
On birthdays and at Christmas the children would have been able to invite friends to parties, when cook provided sandwiches, cakes and jellies.
Victorian Children at a party
The family spent holidays at the seaside or in London, often renting a house and taking their own servants. They spent time at Windermere in the Lake District and had their own steamer on the lake. They also had a yacht which they kept in a Shepley quarry during the winter.
In 1914 James and three friends went on a motoring tour of Scotland in a Napier car, driven by James’ chauffeur, John Murgatroyd. Unfortunately the trip was cut short because of the outbreak of the First World War.
A Victorian Napier
As one of the wealthiest families in Shepley, the Seniors did a lot of entertaining. As well as dinner parties, they held garden parties and the Hunt Ball often took place in the Senior’s ballroom in the basement of the house. The large reception rooms of Cliffe House made the perfect setting for many society events.
The sitting room (in the early 1900’s) where many parties would have been held
As in most Victorian families the church was very important. The Seniors attended St. Paul’s Church in the village, which at that time was a fairly new church. Both James and, later, Edward Senior gave large donations towards the extending and equipping of St Paul’s and also paid for the Choir’s annual trip.
St Paul’s Church, Shepley 2003
When James died in 1915 his son, Edward, then aged 27, inherited the house and the business. Life at Cliffe House continued in much the same way as it had in James lifetime.
Edward died in 1935, only 47 years old, and as none of the family was interested in running the Brewery it was sold to Hammonds Brewery. Edward’s wife continued to live at Cliffe House. During World War II evacuee children lived in part of the house and a platoon of soldiers were accommodated in the loft over the stables. During the day the billiard room was used by a bandage sewing group, made up of some of the local ladies.
World War ll soldiers
After the war it became more difficult to get servants and so, in 1946, Edward’s wife could not manage to run the house without sufficient staff and Cliffe House was sold to Dewsbury Corporation to be used by local schools. In 1974 Dewsbury became part of Kirklees Metropolitan Borough Council, so they are now the present owners of Cliffe House, which is used as a Field Study Centre. Below are pictures of typical activities which children can participate in at Cliffe House.
Pond dipping at Cliffe House, 2003
Walking up a river in a valley
Testing the soil for acidity in the classroom
A snowy walk in winter.