A century after opening in 1889, Dewsbury Town Hall became the focal point of a new Market Place pedestrianisation scheme. The splendid building symbolises Dewsbury’s great days as centre of the West Riding’s Heavy Woollen District. Vast quantities of rags were once brought to the town for sorting, auctioning and recycling into inexpensive heavy woollen goods. On these activities was Dewsbury’s fame and fortune based.

From a settlement of people living in the Market Place and Westgate areas, the population of Dewsbury increased six-fold between 1800 and 1900. Road connections to Bradford, Leeds, Wakefield and Huddersfield were improved; development of Calder based navigations gave access to trading centres such as Hull and Manchester; railway companies established excellent freight and passenger facilities. Although many of Dewsbury’s mills have disappeared, much fine Victorian architecture remains.

Norman Ellis, author of a dozen other local history books, has used over 200 illustrations from his unique collection of Dewsbury postcards and ephemera to produce this book. It explains how the town rose to prominence, and chronicles especially the story during the twentieth century.