"Keighley - Past and Present, or a History of Keighley" was written originally by William Keighley who died before the book could be published. The book was completed and published by Robert Holmes of Sunk Island (East Riding) in 1858. The book contains over 210 pages:

• A transcription of the contents pages for the book can be seen below.
• The 4 pages of the preface and contents pages of the book are also available as a pdf (Acrobat) file.

"Haworth - Past and Present: a history of Haworth, Stanbury and Oxenhope" was written by the renowed local historian J. Horsfall Turner, and published in 1879. The book contains over 180 pages, along with 20 illustrations (mainly line drawings). Haworth was the home of the Bronte sisters.

• The contents for the book can be seen below.
• The preface and contents of the book is also available as a pdf (Acrobat) file.
• Additionally you will find below a review of the book on CDrom by Jan Perkins.

"A Bronte Moorland Village and its People: The History of Stanbury" written by Joseph Craven. Unusually for a history book, this starts in the 18th/19th centuries and continues on up to the early 1900s and contains lots of information about the people of the village.

• The contents and list of illustrations are given below
• The Title page, Preface and Introduction is available here as a pdf (Acrobat) file

The above Acrobat files were extracted from the main pdf file and shows the quality of the images. You will need at least version 5 of Acrobat to open this file. If you do not have an up to date version please go to the Adobe web-site to obtain a free version of Acrobat Reader.

A transcription of the contents pages of Keighley: past and present:

• Situation of the Town
• Pronunciation and Origin of its Name
• Extract from the Domesday Survey
• The Parish Church
• The Rectory
• St.John's Church
• St.Mary's Church
• King's Mill and Consolidated Manors
• Market, Fairs, and Free Warren
• Flodden Field
• Military Occupation of the Town
• Thoresby's Visit to this Town
• Further Extracts from Mr.Gale's MSS
• The Free Grammar School
• The Lower Free School
• Court of Requests and County Court
• Prevailing Customs and former Amusements
• Ancient Custom of Tolling the Passing Bell
• Ancient Family of Keighley
• Noble Family of Cavendish
• Roman Roads and Coins
• Celts, Urns, and other Antiquities
• Dissenting Places of Worship. -Independents
• Society of Friends
• Wesleyan Methodists
• Swedenborgians
• Baptists
• Methodists' New Connexion
• Primitive Methodists
• Keighley Mechanics' Institution Halls and Villas
• Armorial Bearings of the Neighbouring Gentry
• Trade and Manufactures
• Statistical Remarks
• Increase of the Smiths
• Keighley made a Polling Station
• The Keighley Union
• The Bursting of Crow hill Bog, with Annals of the Town's Further Progress
• Villages and other Objects in the Neighbourhood
• The Hitching Stone
• Slithery fore
• Newsholme
• Holm house
• Goose eye
• Laycock
• Braithwaite, with Meteorological Observations
• Fell Lane
• Jennet's Well
• The South west or Sun side of the Parish
• Oakworth
• Thwaites
• Utley
• Holden Cliff and Park
• Riddlesden Hall
• West Riddlesden Hall
• The Altar and Hamlet of Marley
• Hainworth
• Hermit hole and Goff Well
• The Rectors of Keighley. -Rev.Miles Gale
• Memoir of the Rev.Theodore Dury

A transcription of the contents pages of Haworth: past and present:

• Topography
• ANCIENT HISTORY.Druidical.Roman.Kirkby's Inquest.Nos tell.The Manors.Barnard's Survey.Subsidy Roll
• WILLS
• THE MANOR.Birkhead.Midgley.Oxenhope
• THE CHURCH.Origin.Inscriptions.Chantry
• INCUMBENTS.Pawson.Wynterburn.Emmott.Halifax.Smith.Rawlinge
• ENDOWMENT.Rebuilding.Tithes.Benefaction
• REV. E. ROBINSON.Coining.Church Registers.Emmotts
• REV. J. COLLIER.REV.E.GARFORTH
• REV.R. Town.Registers.Exercises.
• REV .J. COLLIER.Ramsdens.Recusants.Token
• REV. E. MOORE.Middleton.REv.R.MARGERISON.Heywood
• DISSENT.Foster.Rhodes.Smith.Feather.ROBINSON
• REV. T. ELLISON.REV.W.CLIFFORD.JACKSON
• SEAT HOLDERS.Benefactions ......
• REV. I. SMITH.Suspended.Clog and Shoe Wedding.Mr.Keighley.Bells
• REV. W.GRIMSHAw.Presentation.Life by Newton, &c.
• CHURCH REBUILT.
• REV.J.RICHARDSON.Caveat
• REV. J. CHARNOCK.Law Suits.Terrier.Arvill
• REV. S. REDHEAD.Uproars
• REV. P. BRONTE.Fennells.Thornton Chapel.Books.Family History.Curates.Novelists.Trials.Rev.A.B.Nicholls.Marriage of Miss Bronte.Memorabilia.Tablet.Graveyard.REV. J.WADE
• METHODISM.Ingham.Grimshaw.Maskew.Greenwood.Lee.Catlow.Darney
• Rev. John Wesley.Whitefield.Grimshaw's Letters.Reply to White.Chapel.Ministers
• BAPTISTS.Hartley.Greenwood.Fawcett's Poem.Crabtree's Rev.I.Slee.Thomas.Oddy.Winterbothom.Bury.Keats.Wood.Aldis.Harper.Hall Green Chapel
• Haworth.People.Railway.Astrology.Voters.Worsted.Area
• Sowdens.Ash Mount.The Old Hall.Ducking Stool
• The Grammar School
• Scandinavian Names.Mytholm.Oxenhope.Valley.Church
• Captain Edwards.Copley Pedigree.Thomas Parker
• Stanbury.Crow Hill Bog.Ponden ...
• DEMOLITION OF HAWORTH CHURCH (2)
• AUTHORS.Branwell Bronte.Rev.P.Bronte.Bronte Sisters.Hardaker

• Haworth Church
• Haworth Parsonage
• Haworth Church (East)
• Emmott, or Old Hall
• Rev.P.Bronte
• Thornton Chapel
• Thornton Parsonage
• Charlotte Bronte
• Rev.A.B.Nicholls
• Haworth Parsonage
• Rev.W.Grimshaw
• Haworth Village
• Grimshaw's Flagons
• The Old Hall
• Ducking Stool
• Bronte Group
• Oxenhope Church
• Thomas Parker
• "Keeper".
• Charlotte Bronte

The contents and list of illustrations for "History of Stanbury:

Contents:

• Introductory
• Owners and Occupiers of Land and Houses at Stanbury
• The Stanbury Charities
• Religious Sects in the Village
• The Stanbury Day School
• Stanbury and the Quakers
• The Taylors of Stanbury
• Ponden Hall and the Heatons
• The Crow Hill Flood
• The Keighley Reservoirs in Stanbury
• A Stanbury Itinerary
• The Brass Bands
• Some Old Customs
• The Cemetery, The Mechanics' Institute, and the Post Office
• "My Ain Folk "
• Valedictory

Illustrations:

• Stanbury, from the East
• Lumbfoot, from the South
• The Wesleyan Chapel
• The Old Day School and Master's House
• The Manor House
• Ponden Hall
• The Church
• The Bronte Waterfalls, Haworth
• " The Gentleman's " Grave"
• Griffe Mill
• " Old Timmy "
• Ponden Corn Mill, Ponden Bridge
• Stanbury, from the West
• The Little Mill

A review of the CD by Jan Perkins: The new CD Rom by Colin Hinson is a fantastic achievement. You can now read three of our more famous book on one CD. The volumes are "Keighley: past and present" (1858) by WIlliam Keighley, "Haworth: past and present" (1879) (J Horsfall Turner)"The History of Stanbury"

To have all three local volumes on one CD has to be perfection, Colin's images are as usual perfect despite the ages of these books. The books themselves are not easily obtainable due to their age.

As Archivist & Web Designer for Keighley & District Local History Society, this has to be a must for all our members, and a perfect gift for anyone who is researching in the area. I hope that Colin will scan further books of the area, which is keenly researched by many. I am given many of these books for our archive, but dare not read them for fear of further deterioration. Now you can flick from page to page without the worry of your book being damaged.

As all the books are machine searchable, and with the Active Links it is easy to go to the image or name you are looking for. Thanks once again Colin......."Perfect"

A review of Haworth, Past and Present, by Jan Perkins:

As usual this CD book by Colin Hison is outstanding, all the links are clear, the pictures and text are a joy to look at. Even when the text magnified 600% which is rarely going to be needed, the text remains clear and easy to read.

I love the fact that the two contents pages have links to the rest of the book. Find a name in the contents click, and it takes you to the details and history surrounding that person. You can spend hours, enjoying this book on CD, whereas, in the original form, this book is rather hard on the eyes, or at least, I found it to be so.

I have a copy of the original book, BUT again prefer to read it on my computer screen, I enjoy reading the books in this way. I have my hard copy, BUT never will I have to flatten the pages back to read what is just in the middle of the pages, this just has to be the best way to view this book and others like it.

The illustrations are stunning just as they are in the original book. This is an absolute must for Bronte Lovers, family and local historians alike.

Another winner from Colin. Thank you.

Thanks for letting me preview your book.

Jan Perkins, Feb. 2005