J Woolfenden & Co, Denton, Lancs

J Woolfenden & Co

& Dane Shot Bank Farm (aka Dane Bank Farm)

The Woolfenden Family of Dane Bank, Denton
The founder of the Woolfenden family hatting business in Denton was Joseph Woolfenden I who was born at Broadoak Farm, Radcliffe, Lancashire, and he was baptised there on the 2 Jun 1776. His parents were Joseph Woolfenden and Betty. He married Mary Rothwell at St Mary's Church, Radcliffe, on the 25 Nov 1798 and she was born at Lumb Carr, Holcombe, Bury, Lancashire, in 1775/76. Joseph Woolfenden I died at Denton on the 30 May 1853, aged 77 years, and his wife Mary Woolfenden née Rothwell died at Denton in 1842, aged 66 years. Their descendants (partially based on the 1851 census) are:

Ann Woolfenden was born at Broadoak Farm, Radcliffe, on the 18 Apr 1799 and she died at Denton in 1865, aged 66 years. She was married to Joseph Bassnett (Basnett).
Thomas Woolfenden was born at Broadoak Farm, Radcliffe, on the 24 Jul 1802 and he died at Dane Shot Bank Farm on the 2 Dec 1872, aged 70 years.
John Woolfenden (elder) was born at Broadoak Farm, Radcliffe, on the 8 May 1804 and he died at Gorton on the 19 Jul 1863, aged 59 years.
Henry Layland Woolfenden I (aka Leyland) was born at Broadoak Farm, Radcliffe, on the 19 Feb 1806 and baptised on the 30 Mar 1806 at St Mary's Church, Radcliffe. He died at High Bank, Denton on the 6 Oct 1877, aged 71 years.: John Woolfenden (younger) was born at Denton on the 15 Aug 1839 and he is the son of the above Henry Layland Woolfenden I and Agnes Richardson who were married at St Mary's Church, The Parsonage, Manchester, on the 5 May 1835. He died at Denton on the 6 Sep 1907, aged 68 years.; Joseph Woolfenden III was born at Denton on the 13 Nov 1846 and he is the son of the above Henry Layland Woolfenden I and Agnes Richardson. He died at High Bank, Denton on the 12 Mar 1910, aged 63 years.
Joseph Woolfenden II was born at Broadoak Farm, Radcliffe, on the 27 May 1808 and he died at High Bank, Denton on the 23 Mar 1879, aged 70 years.
Mary Woolfenden was born at Broadoak Farm, Radcliffe, in 1811/12 and she died at Denton in 1874, aged 62 years.
Alice Woolfenden was born at Broadoak Farm, Radcliffe, in 1815/16 and she died at Dukinfield in 1872, aged 57 years. She married Robert Schofield Hopwood at Manchester Cathedral in 1857.
James Woolfenden was born at Broadoak Farm, Radcliffe, on the 19 Dec 1817 and he died at High Bank, Denton on the 6 Feb 1905, aged 87 years
Elias Woolfenden was born at Dane Shot Bank Farm, Denton, on the 24 Oct 1820 and he was baptised on the 7 Jan 1821. He died at Denton on the 31 Jan 1914, aged 93 years.

In 1841, Henry Layland Woolfenden I was resident next door to his father, Joseph Woolfenden I, with his wife and two children, and he was described as a Hat Maker, the address being Dane Shutt Bank. This area of Denton is now known as Dane Bank but other variations are Dane Shot Bank, Dane Shut Bank, Daneshot Bank and Dean Shut Bank.

It seems that Joseph Woolfenden I took little or no part in the actual hatting business, preferring to leave this to his sons while he cared for the farming side of the business. According to the company's own literature, J Woolfenden & Co was established in 1830.

The above data shows that Joseph Woolfenden I moved to Denton with his family sometime in 1819 or 1820 to live at Dane Shot Bank Farm. The 1841 and 1851 censuses both show Joseph Woolfenden I to be a farmer and the latter census informs us that at the age of 74 years he was farming 46 acres and employing two labourers. Both censuses show all the sons to be hat makers.

Left: Dane Shot Bank Farm, the former home of Joseph Woolfenden I, Oct 2007.
Right: Detail of the extension of 1861/62 to Dane Shot Bank Farm.

It is likely that the first floor was a bow garret used for preparing the loose raw fibres of the fur by a bower,
while the ground floor was used as a planking shop where hat bodies were prepared. At this stage these
were cone-shaped felted and shrunken hoods.

By the 1861 census, the sons Thomas, aged 57 years, Joseph II, aged 50 years, and James, aged 42 years and a widower, are resident at Dane Shot Bank. Henry Layland, aged 53 years, is resident on Thornley Ln, which is nearby on the Denton boundary with Reddish, and Elias Woolfenden, aged 40 years, is resident on New Rd. With the exception of Thomas, the sons are described as being hat manufacturers. Thomas is a farmer of 30 acres employing 13 men and 1 boy, which suggests that, although the farm has shrunk in area, it was being intensively worked. The 1861 census also records that Joseph Bassnett, aged 63 years, of Denton was a hat manufacturer resident at Dane Shot Bank. He was married to Ann Woolfenden, aged 61 years. On the 11 Jul 1866 Joseph Bassnett stepped down as a partner leaving Joseph Woolfenden II, Henry Layland Woolfenden I, James Woolfenden and Elias Woolfenden as partners.

In 1869 the Woolfenden hatting family became connected by marriage with the Howe hatting family of Denton when Mary Ann Woolfenden married Joseph Cooper Howe at Christ Church, Denton. Mary Ann Woolfenden was born at Denton in 1846 and she is the daughter of James Woolfenden and Sarah Downs who were married at St John’s Church, Manchester, in 1846.

By the 1871 census, Thomas, aged 68 years, is a farmer of 28 acres employing 4 men and 1 boy at Dane Shot Bank Farm on Windmill Ln. Henry Layland, aged 64 years, is a hat manufacturer resident at Dane Shot Bank, Windmill Ln. Joseph II, aged 61 years, is a hat manufacturer resident at Dane Shot Bank, Windmill Ln. James, aged 53 years, is a hat manufacturer resident at Dane Shot Bank, Windmill Ln. Elias, aged 50 years, is a hat manufacturer resident on Windmill Ln. From the above addresses it can be deduced that Henry Layland, Joseph II and James are resident at the three houses opposite to Dane Shot Bank Farm on the other side of Windmill Ln (High Bank).

The 1870s witnessed the death of three of the Woolfenden brothers:

Thomas Woolfenden died on the 2 Dec 1872, aged 70 years Henry Layland Woolfenden I died on the 6 Oct 1877, aged 71 years Joseph Woolfenden II died on the 23 Mar 1879, aged 70 years

The 1881 census shows that the Woolfenden family had, by this time, given up the family home at Dane Shot Bank Farm and Joseph Weir, aged 54 years, is farming 28 acres. James Woolfenden, aged 63 years, is a hat manufacturer employing 150 workers and he is resident at Dane Bank. Elias Woolfenden, aged 60 years, is a hat manufacturer resident at 2 Dane Bank. By 1887 the three partners in the family business were James Woolfenden, Elias Woolfenden and John Woolfenden. On the 31 Dec 1887 James and Elias Woolfenden retired and the business continued with John Woolfenden and Thomas Woolfenden, who was a new partner. In effect, control of the business had passed to the next (third) generation.

In 1891, James Woolfenden, aged 73 years, is resident at High Bank and other family members still occupy the other two houses at High Bank. Elias Woolfenden, aged 70 years, is resident at 2 Dane Bank. In 1897/98 and again in 1898/99, Thomas Woolfenden, a Justice of the Peace, was the Chairman of Denton Council. This Thomas Woolfenden (born 1851) belonged to the third generation and he was the son of James Woolfenden. On the 6 Mar 1899 he performed the opening ceremony for Denton Town Hall, which had originally been the free library that opened in 1889.

In 1901, James Woolfenden, aged 83 years, is resident at High Bank and Elias Woolfenden, aged 80 years, is resident at Dane Bank.

James Woolfenden died on the 6 Feb 1905, aged 87 years Elias Woolfenden died on the 31 Jan 1914, aged 93 years

Finally, the business passed into the control of the fourth (and last) generation. By 1934 the business partners were Tom Wilfrid Woolfenden, Henry Layland Woolfenden II, Ellis Taylor Woolfenden and Frank Woolfenden. On the 24 Nov 1934, Tom Wilfrid Woolfenden retired. By 1942 the business partners were John Albert Woolfenden, Ellis Taylor Woolfenden and Frank Woolfenden.

Left: Elias Woolfenden (24 Oct 1820-31 Jan 1914).
Centre: John Woolfenden (younger) (15 Aug 1839-6 Sep 1907).
Right: Joseph Woolfenden III (13 Nov 1846-12 Mar 1910).

Left: James Henry Woolfenden (1859-13 Jan 1932).
Right: Joseph Woolfenden IV (18 Feb 1857-3 Apr 1940).

Left: Dane Shot Bank Farm, late 1880s.
The gentleman stood to the left of the little boy is likely to be Elias Woolfenden.
Right: Cottage, now demolished, on the north side of Dane Shot Bank Farm, early 20th century.
Credit: F Oliver.

J Woolfenden & Co, Silk & Felt Hat Manufacturers
In c.1836 a depression began in the hatting industry but it seems that this did not affect Denton until c.1841. At this time, the industry in Denton was still family based and families without work found it difficult to move away to seek work because of restrictions on their movements. Tithe apportionments for Haughton and Denton were completed in 1845 and 1849, respectively and those for Haughton list six hat manufacturers (Henry and James Booth, Joseph Howe, John Mallalieu, John Peacock, Ashton Yates and Luke Taylor, while Denton lists none. In Denton, Joseph Woolfendale (Woolfenden) I of Dane Bank is described as owning his own croft. However, this must be contrasted with the 1841 census return that states that his sons were, indeed, hat makers. This suggests that the embryonic family business was still very much a cottage industry at this stage of development.

It is understood that the small two-storey extension (with external steps at the rear to the first floor) at the west elevation of Dane Shot Bank Farm was built in 1861/62 and this signalled an expansion of the hatting business but the original purpose of this domestic workshop was not recorded. It is likely that the first floor was a bow garret used for preparing the loose raw fibres of the fur by a bower, while the ground floor was used as a planking shop where hat bodies were prepared. At this stage these were cone-shaped felted and shrunken hoods. Another possibility, because of its fairly late date of construction, is that it was used for stiffening and proofing purposes. However, Middleton (Middleton, Thomas, 1936, The History of Denton and Haughton, Hyde) states that the firm only made hat bodies that were stiffened and proofed elsewhere, before being returned for finishing.

Initially the firm specialised in the manufacture of fur, silk and black soft felt hats and then velour hats. Later, they expanded the business to manufacture ladies' and children's hats in fur, felt and velour.

Thomas Woolfenden died in 1872, aged 70 years, and in the following year the four hat-making brothers began to expand the business. To the east of Dane Shot Bank Farm, near the railway line, they built their original hat works. This was brick built, three-storeys high that boasted a clock and the inscription 'J W & Co 1873'. Subsequent additions included of a brick-built, two-storey edifice of 6 by 2 bays, with a basement and chimney, and a two-storey edifice of 4 by 6 bays. However, an engraving of the site shows several other buildings as well.

Engraving of Woolfenden's Hat Works.

Hat band with company crest, 1938.

Additionally, the Woolfenden family built houses for themselves and rows of terraced houses for their workforce, which ranged along High Bank, Windmill Ln (Dane Bank), Daneshot St and Joseph St. They provided a shop at 1 Daneshot St (south end) and a hostelry at 17 Daneshot St (north end) called the Dane Bank Hotel. The result of this building activity was a close-knit industrial hamlet for the manufacture of hats.

View looking west along Windmill Ln in the direction of the hamlet of Blue Stone, early 20th century.

The level of the lane was lowered here in the 1840s to allow the London & North Western Railway, Stockport–Guide Bridge Line, to cross over the lane behind the viewpoint. This required the construction of the substantial stone retaining wall on the right.

The terraced houses were built by the Woolfenden family to be rented to the employees of their hat works and the hat-works chimney stands behind the houses. The Woolfenden family resided at High Bank off the picture to the left.

Earlier names for Windmill Ln were Dane Shot Ln and Dark Ln. The short Bluestone Rd had not been constructed by this time but it is unusual in that Windmill Ln is at both ends of it.

The back of the row of eight terraced houses and the Dane Bank Hotel on Daneshot St (Dane St), 1947.

The Dane Bank Hotel is on the right and a grocer’s shop is at the opposite end adjacent to Windmill Ln. The houses are fenced off from the railway by old railway sleepers stood on end. The hotel was replaced by a new one, with the same name, on Windmill Ln in 1940.

In 1901 the publican was Josiah Bowden (59). He was resident there with his wife Hannah Clews (58), daughter, May (20), and niece, Maud Rhead (16). May was a barmaid and Maud was a housemaid. Josiah died on the 21 Mar 1905, aged 63 years, and his wife then became the publican. However, by 1911 Albert Kinder (50) was the publican and the shopkeeper at the grocer’s shop was Miss Eliza Millichip (47).

Slater's Directory, 1903 Dane Bank J Woolfenden & Co, hat manufacturers No. 2, Elias Woolfenden No. 6, Mrs Elizabeth Woolfenden Dane Shot Bank Farm, Samuel Hodgkinson, farmer High Bank James Woolfenden Mrs Joseph Woolfenden Miss Mary Woolfenden Daneshot St (Dane St) No. 1, Samuel Slate, shopkeeper No. 17, Josiah Bowden, publican, Dane Bank Hotel

Slater's Directories, 1909 & 1911 Dane Bank J Woolfenden & Co, hat manufacturers No. 2, Elias Woolfenden No. 6, Mrs Elizabeth Woolfenden Dane Shot Bank Farm, William Shore, farmer High Bank Mrs Ann Woolfenden Joseph Woolfenden III Miss Mary Woolfenden Daneshot St (Dane St) No. 1, Samuel Slate, then Harry Hallworth, shopkeeper No. 17, Albert Kinder, publican, Dane Bank Hotel Manchester Rd James Henry Woolfenden

First cousins, Ronald Woolfenden MM, Frank Woolfenden and Edward Woolfenden served as Privates during the Great War. Ronald Woolfenden died of wounds on the 18 Aug 1916, aged 21 years. Ellis Taylor Woolfenden served as an Aircraft Mechanic 3rd Class in the Royal Air Force during the Great War. Robert Schofield Hopwood died at Hooley Hill, Audenshaw, on the 30 Dec 1879, aged 56 years. Joseph Bassnett (Basnett), resident on Manchester Rd, Denton, died on the 3 Mar 1887, aged 89 years. Joseph Woolfenden III, died 12 Mar 1910, aged 63 years. Joseph Woolfenden IV (18 Feb 1857-3 Apr 1940). Henry Layland Woolfenden II died at Audenshaw in 1940, aged 68 years. Ellis Taylor Woolfenden died at Audenshaw in 1950, aged 63 years. Frank Woolfenden died at Stockport in 1958, aged 71 years. Edward Woolfenden (b.28 Nov 1889) died in Manchester Royal Infirmary in 1954, aged 64 years. Tom Wilfrid Woolfenden, resident on Hyde Rd, Gorton, died on the 4 Mar 1965, aged 83 years. John Albert Woolfenden died at Audenshaw in 1972, aged 65 years.