Warring Green is more of an area of Brighouse than a village which covers an area from the north west of Brighouse and from the Lane Head area through Lightcliffe road area to the centre of Waring Green down to the Bradford Road and Thornhills beck area as well as encroaching on Smithy Car Lane and Granny Hall Lane.
Waring Green at one time was the point where 4 roads cross with the main roads being Bonegate and Garden Road ( although it is now one of those mini roundabout where nobody knows who has the right of way? even if you know the right of way do the other drivers), this village crossroad was flanked at the sides with Waterloo Road and Thornhill Briggs Lane with the Waring Green Community Centre standing proud on the corner of this once busy cross roads with a large Co-op store and butches shop diagonally opposite.
Years ago this area was a thriving part of Brighouse with well over thirty shops and service outlets in this one small area and right on the crossroads and the heart of the area was ‘The Co-op’ along with its own butchers shop but there was also another three Co-op stores within a stone’s throw from this small centre, (some of these old great looking buildings still stand in one form or another see the pictures of these old iconic buildings) sadly now all gone but surprising the land on the crossroads where the main Co-op once stood is still there and overgrown with a fence spanning the area, it makes you wonder how many plots of redundant land the old Co-op actually own within the north of England?.
At one time this small area boasted to have at least 7 Fish shops, 4 men’s Barbers shops, 8 News agents, 5 Pubs, a working men’s club along with Butches, Bakers, Sweets Shop’s and other small businesses including Garages, Undertakers, etc. as well as several Schools, 2 Parks, two very large allotment plots with hens huts and greenhouse as far as you could see, the old Co-op stores in those days even sold animal feeds along with Hay and Straw for all these small allotment owners along with a large number of back garden chicken keepers some even bred rabbits for their meat following the war year as fresh meat was rationed and very hard to get, right up to the late fifties.
The Waring Green Community Centre used to be connected with local armature dramatics and over the years it was one of the places to go see some amazing drama and various stage shows. This Great looking building was originally built as a Sunday School in the late 1800s (for a Rastrick Church ) however it is now run by volunteers and like most meeting halls and centres has a regular use from Slimming Clubs, Art Clubs, Dancing along with private bookings, they also hold regular events including Barn Dancing, etc.
The area still has a modern Gospel Type Chapel ‘Churchfields Hall’ up Bonegate, 2 Pubs ‘The Prince Albert’ on New Street and ‘The Crown’ on Lightcliffe Road, (although they both may be currently closed (May 2020 please see section on past & present Pubs)), like just everywhere there are loads of take-a-ways but I don’t think there are any genuine Fish & Chip Shops left? ( amazing when you think at one time had more Fish & Chip Shops than any other area in Brighouse) there are also some other retail outlets and a few local companies dotted around the area.
The area itself still looks a bit 1900s with row after row of terrace houses although it does also have a few modern properties and a couple of modern schools, at one time it was the sort of place that had clothes lines spanning across the cobbled streets predominantly occupied by elderly people, it still holds fond memories for me as this was not only part of my milk round in the late 60s but I used to have my morning coffee at the Co-op all them years ago and also I would often buy some food for my hens from them at the same time, who always gave me an extra scoop of corn free, many of the streets were always blocked off half way down with chains so I had to walk most of the streets with a crate of milk in each hand as I could not get through with my truck because of the chains, also on Mondays the roads were always full of dangling clothes from the clothes lines spanning across the roads (everybody and I mean everybody washed their clothes on a Monday).
I am not too sure on the type of residents who now live in this nice area of Brighouse although all the old residents I knew from the sixties/seventies who sadly will be no longer with us, although maybe the next generations may be still around.
While the modern area has loads of take-a-ways there does not seem to be a lot of local big employers for the vast majority of the locals, this is still a place used by some locals as a short cut to gain access to the Elland side of Brighouse to avoid the town centre, there is one unusual business that must have been here for many years the hand car wash opposite Thornhills Club.
unfortunately this is one of the few places I have not walked around for years, so I cannot let you know a great deal more about this nice area? But if you know more please drop me a line?
